Would You Like A Side Of Love At First Sight With That Coffee To Go?
by Sweetysweetssugarytreats
Summary: "I'm in love…" Gintoki sighs dreamily. "With a human being this time." -Or; The Coffe Shop AU that no one needed but that I wrote anyway where Gin falls in love at first sight, Suki is a protective bro, Zura just wants to make people meet Elizabeth and Tatsuma is… Tatsuma.
1. Chapter 1

**Would You Like A Side Of Love At First Sight With That Coffee To Go?**

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Pairings: Gintoki Sakata/Hijikata Toshiro and Takasugi Shinsuke/Katsura Kotaro 

This story feautures: Alternate Universe- Coffe Shops & Cafès, Love at first sight, What Is Flirting? Awkwardness, Fluff, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, Boys In Love, Friendship, Bros, Broship Taken Seriously

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**Author's Note:**

**I just wanted to write something different and I had this idea for quite some time. Oh and also, these five (Gin, Toshi, Zura, Suki, Tatsuma (I'm sorry I couldn't find a short nickname that I like for him)) are all the same height. I don't actually think it's really important for you to know, I mean it's not a life changing decision or a dramatic plot twist… it's just there. In my mind when I was writing the story they were all the same height, just that… so… yeah.**

**_Warning: This story contains some cheesy and very _fluffy_ parts, be careful with your intake of sugar because some lines might give you a sugar rush…_**

**_. . ._**

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**Chapter 1**

The day had begun bright early with the birds chirping and the people milling about in the streets. The morning air was fresh and crispy, the chatter filled the town all around and-

And no one is interested in that. The only thing that matters is what is happening inside a certain Cafè.

The Cafè in question is the so called 'Justaway'.

Although if one pays a fair amount of attention they might notice that under the eye-catching sign with the name written in bold, red letters there is a little 'Elizabeth's Jouishishi' scribbled, faded and crossed in pencil, as if it should not have been there in the first place.

And if one squints their eyes and looks even closer they might notice that under the crossed name there is another one, even smaller, that reads 'Kihetai rules'. This one also crossed out.

And if one gets even more close and squints their eyes until they are practically slits they can see that under the other two there is a third name that reads 'Hot TatsuMoto'. For some reason this is crossed over a hundred times.

And if one has a vision comparable to x-rays they would read the smudged letters under all the previous names that simply spell 'Sugar.' This one is crossed too but beside it there is also a small 'No. Just no.'

From the outside the coffee shop gives off a warm vibe with a touch of modern style, from the washed white walls and the few pink roses hanging in decorated vases, to the menu of the day written on a black board with a small doodle of what looks like a suspicious animal that is accompanied by the name 'Lizzy' written on top.

Inside you can find hardwood, shiny floorboards that accentuate further the white furniture and creamy walls littered with shelves, pictures and a varying quantity of defined and undefined colourful objects filling the empty spaces and giving the entire Cafè a feeling of home. On every table instead of a centerpiece there is what seems to be a toy at the very first sight, similar to the sketch on the menu outside and this is also accompanied with a 'Lizzy'-

But enough of this before it becomes a description that sounds more like a commercial or a strange deal from some real estate agent. Now we can get to the crucial part of the story, and that revolves around one person only. Although there are some other people too this one is definitely the most important, if he says so himself.

And that is the one and only Gintoki Sakata, since this is the story of how he discovered a part of himself he had not know he possessed until then…

Until the day love entered through that door on a wonderful spring day.

Or, well, until the day a certain customer entered through the door and he fell in love, and it's still winter, but we all have to agree that the previous line was more impactful.

Before that however we have to make an(other) introduction.

Gintoki Sakata has always had a certain… talent for sweets in general.

The first time he attempted to make one Gintoki had only been seven. And mind you, that had not been an innocent try in the marvellous world of the Sweet Sugary Heaven, no, and he knew that, he knew that well.

Instead it was more of an experiment about testing his unrefined skills on his other fellow humans. And who else would he have chosen to be the guinea pig on his experiment than one of his best friends and partners in crime (the title had stuck with them when one time they had accidentally broken a window and since that day they thought of themselves as dangerous and astute criminals for some reason?), and that was none other than Takasugi Shinsuke.

Let's be clear, if Shinsuke had not been available that day he would have chosen his other two best friends, but thankfully his partner in crime was free. Now, Gintoki had no idea how smart a seven year old could be, even if he himself was extremely brilliant for that age- in his most humble opinion might he add- but from the slight frown and lightly furrowed eyebrows of his little comrade when he had been offered the cake that day Gintoki thought Shinsuke might have gotten the impression, if not figured out, that his cake was not exactly an innocent gift.

Little Gintoki of course did not care, he went along with his plan anyway.

When Shinsuke took the first bite of the cake Gintoki had created with his own hands he… turned a little red. And a few shades of other colours. And spit it out. Gintoki had almost been offended.

The day after Shinsuke did not come to school due to being sick. And that had been the first time Gintoki thought that being an emperor and opening an evil agency did not sound so bad.

But do not worry, he has not gone down the vile path, he just enjoys messing around with people, especially with Shinsuke, and probably more than he should but hey, every one of us has their pet peeve so, people, let him live. When the time came for Gintoki to decide what to become in the future he chose to follow his dream of opening his own bakery and he is still working towards achieving that, so the world will be safe. At least for now.

And do not fret about little Shinsuke, little Gintoki for a consecutive week after the 'incident' spent his afternoons with him to keep him company. But since that day he has not been allowed to cook something in at least three feet of distance from Shinsuke ever again, which is a shame really, because at only thirteen he managed to perfect one of his recipes so well it makes people faint on the spot, and he would have liked for his best friend to try it. Don't get him wrong, he loves his best friends, he just wants them to be the first to test his 'culinary skills', that's not a wrong thing. And this is it.

Was this introduction really necessary to what is about to happen in this story?

Not really.

Does Gintoki care about that?

Absolutely not.

And now that you had this amazing, brilliant, extraordinary minute of a not very detailed summary of Gintoki's intricate, spectacular, marvellous life (not really, his life can get a little boring sometimes but eh, everyone's life is boring at times, so that's fine) we can finally descend into the heart of the matter, the star of the show, the center of the world, the moving force behind the universe, the everything. Or…

The Stranger, as Gintoki likes to call him.

Mind you, not just any stranger, but…

The Stranger. With two capitals.

And that is the boy who stole Gintoki's heart with only a glance.

And Gintoki's heart is certainly not a jewel featured in some grand boutique standing underneath a glass case and waiting to be stolen by a thief dressed in black disappearing in the dark shadows of the night with the prized possession clutched in his hands. Well, it would be more accurate to say it had not been, until that moment. Gintoki is willing to give this thief as many precious heart-shaped jewels as he can if it means he will see him again.

The encounter happens in the morning, when the rush hour has already come to an end and only a handful of clients are waiting in line. Gintoki has just been left alone behind the counter, getting on the last orders in an almost robotic sort of way because who even likes working in the mornings? No one, that's who. Although he has to admit that sometimes he will stay up all night to bake new recipes and that is fun, especially if he has to try new 'ingredients'.

When the last customer in line is ready to order Gintoki lifts his head from the register to ask his usual and pre-prepared question as he does everytime and-

Stops.

There is a second in which Gintoki's brain short-circuits and he stops working from the inside and outside too.

Gintoki is starstruck.

It feels like the God of Thunder has rained all his thunders straight through him, making a small concert out of his heartbeats and synchronizing them with the flutter of the stranger's dark and thick eyelashes.

But his long eyelashes are actually the second thing he notices because the first is…

Blue.

He is drowning in blue.

…Oh wow.

The third thing he notices are his straight hair, jet black and contrasting perfectly with the blue of his eyes. Gintoki has seen a fair amount of beautiful people in his life, be from his real-life experiences or through the screen of his television, but this… this is different.

He is a different kind of beautiful that makes Gintoki's breath get stuck in his throat and-

"Hi."

And what has he just done!? He said hi? He said hi?! No, no, no! Gintoki does not say hi to greet customers! He doesn't even like people most of the time so why would he even greet them in the first place?! But he is taken off guard when the other actually answers.

"…Hi."

Oh.

In that moment he his hit by that voice like… like...

...like that time a few years ago when they were playing and Zura- another one of his best friends- had to kick the ball but he ended up kicking his face by mistake. Gintoki had found himself in the hospital with a missing tooth. He does not know why that example just flew over in his mind but an impact is an impact nonetheless. And he has never felt so impacted before in his life.

Okay, so, Gintoki would very much like to know….

Who has given beautiful people the right to have a beautiful voice too?!

Hello, his heart is suffering over here!

He has no idea what is even happening but he feels as if he has just been taken off by a storm and for some reason he cannot look away from that blue that is taking up his vision and making everything seem brighter, and better, and sweeter, and-

"Uh, I would like to order…" The stranger, no, no-The Stranger, yes, this sounds, better- begins almost unsure and Gintoki waits impatiently for him to continue. "… some coffee?"

"Sure, we might have a little left here." Gintoki tries to joke whilst he is literally trying to stand upright because his knees are shaking so bad, and is it just him or did that sound adorable, and what's wrong with his heart because it's not stopping!

"Oh… yeah."

The Stranger's lips tilt up in a small smile and Gintoki has to physically hold himself up because it feels like the world is spinning out of his feet.

He tries to appear confident and nonchalant as he asks when in truth he is anything but. "What type of coffee would you like?"

"I… don't know." The Stranger's face falls into a little frown and Gintoki kind of feels himself crumbling down from the inside. "It's the first time I enter in a place like this. Sorry." He continues slightly uncertain and apologetic.

Gintoki has never associated the term adorable with a person in his life before.

But today is the first time he does.

"Oh no, if anything I should thank you." He quickly reassures. Only a second later to realize just how weird that sounds. Before he can be judged for all the mistakes he has committed in his foolish existence by The beautiful Stranger he tries to save the situation. "…By, you know, increasing the economy around the coffee shops' business, since you're trying it for the first time and all that."

Mission failed! Situation not saved at all!

'Increasing the economy?! What is this?! Have you gone mad, son?! Have you finally lost the last tidbits of brains inside that thing you call a head?!'

He doesn't know which is worse, what just came out of his own mouth or the fact that he calls himself 'son' inside his head. But Gintoki has no time to dwell on that because The Stranger is already talking.

"Yeah, of course." He replies with the hint of a smile on his lips, almost as if he found the horrible mistake that just came out of Gintoki's mouth funny.

And Gintoki doesn't really know why his heart is beating so fast inside of his chest it feels like it's going to break out.

Like a flash across his eyes he has seen only people in movies experience he suddenly envisions a cup of coffee in his mind. And not just any, mind you, but one in particular.

He had come up with this himself, a few years ago.

"I could choose for you…" The words are out in the blink of an eye, his voice lower than before and more than just slightly unsure. "I-I mean, if you'd like me to?" He adds quickly, the possible and until then very unfamiliar thought- that had not ever occurred with another person before- of having offended The Stranger in some way is weighing down on his soul and- what is even happening here?

But The Stranger's shoulders sag slightly and his features seem to soften, causing rapid heartbeats to the barista. "Yes. Thanks." He sounds sincerely grateful, as if somehow a heavy weight is being taken off his shoulders.

And Gintoki is trying to discreetly bite his lower lip because his cheeks feels warm, the kind of warm he usually experiences when he has to make a new batch of roasted coffee beans and the vapor gets all up in his face and for some reason the simple motion of breathing in and out is not as easy as it has always been. But he pretends he is completely fine and not just a minute away from a heart attack as he carries on with the now life-threatening task of serving the most important person he will ever probably get to make coffee for in his entire life.

Speaking of coffee, there is something a little particular about this one, and that is… Gintoki dislikes it with a certain passion.

This one has been the first try he has ever had at coffee. It has always been too bitter for him, and even after a dozen tries of attempting to sweeten it, the coffee it still is not up to his taste.

He had wanted to throw it away but for some reason his colleagues and dear friends had insisted on including it on the menu. And although he had been reluctant in the end he gave in, not expecting the discrete success it has gained. But after years he still hates it, so…

So why is he serving it now to The Stranger?!

Gintoki has no real idea why he has chosen to go with this option that has a high risk of messing everything up. And worst case scenario he would end up with the coffee spat in his face, the Justaway burnt to the ground, jobless and in prison (he has a fervid imagination most of the time). However he has this feeling in his gut that is telling him to do so and after his twenty-two years alive of following along his instincts he is not going to reject them now.

He goes through the motions quickly but absently, not even looking at what he is doing (in his defence he is not a bad worker, it's just that by now he could do his job with his eyes closed) because he is slightly terrified that if he sees what he is making he might just throw everything in the trash and ignore his gut feeling and he definitely cannot do that, especially when he can feel those blues almost carving a hole into his back even when he is turned away.

He has heard about magnetic looks but never about eyes being able to melt you like marshmallows dissolving into the fire.

Wow, he's got it bad.

Gintoki is almost surprised when his concoction that everyone else calls coffee is finally ready and he is maybe too quick to turn around and almost slam in onto the counter. Thankfully not spilling anything out or he might have just waited for a black hole to engulf him from the embarrassment if that had been the case.

"Here." He says with a strained smile, as if that is enough to cover up whatever has been going on since he first saw those blue, ocean deep, mesmerizing eyes.

The Stranger blinks, maybe in surprise, maybe he is mocking him inside his head, Gintoki has no idea, and takes hold of the cup. Everything is going so slow and Gintoki is dying to know what he thinks of it but at the same time he never wants to know because if it's bad he won't forget this bitter defeat for the rest of his life and-

"This is…" The Stranger begins lowly, stopping Gintoki's internal turmoil and starting it again, and he is ready to tear his hair out, change name, find a new life somewhere far away because just what exactly is going to come out of his mouth next and is he really going to end up on fire or in prison or with his curls sogging from the coffee or is it going to be-

"…good." The Stranger finishes with a wide-eyed gaze and a smile that makes the sun shy in comparison.

Gintoki is hit with that word going straight through his heart and out of his body and he has a nanosecond to wonder if this is what people mean when they talk about an out of body experience and-

And he feels like he might melt in a puddle of caramelized relief.

Out of everything that he was expecting that is definitely not even near on the list of what is imagination has been able to come up with in just under the few minutes since he met him. So he does the only thing he feels he can manage in this moment without stammering, laughing hysterically, or even crying hysterically, or any other thing that would make him pass as a complete fool.

Gintoki smiles.

For some reason The Stranger stops sipping at the coffee, as if he had not foreseen the possibility of Gintoki showing genuine happiness at his reaction.

There is a moment in which they look at each other, simply observe, as if somehow the secret of the universe is hidden somewhere behind lashes and contrasting colours and Gintoki thinks he feels something- something new, like a stab at the height of his chest. And he thinks that it happens in this moment, that this is when he can give a name to this new emotion. And it's-

Their moment is apparently over when The Stranger remembers he has somewhere to be instead of standing in front of the barista like an inanimate statue, much like the barista is also doing, and reaches inside his coat.

"It's on the house." Gintoki suddenly blurts out, but without any stammering he observes so that is definitely a point in his favor.

The Stranger tries to object, which makes him seem even more of the good person he already is in his mind, but apparently Gintoki's eyes must show the determination he feels because in the end he relents with a grateful mumble.

There is no way Gintoki is going to make him pay after- after this, after the moment they shared. No. Someone with those eyes, and that smile, and that face, and that voice, and well, someone with everything The Stranger is should definitely not pay for a coffee Gintoki ended up creating back then when he had not known what coffee really was and he is still now in denial about someone, let alone him, liking it. Maybe it's a lie and The Stranger hates it but he is trying to be polite. Even so, if it ends up being a lie it still sounds sweet to Gintoki's ears.

"I…have to go." The Stranger finally murmurs with something in his voice that is not clear enough to decipher. "Thanks." He adds quieter and that does sound real.

Being thanked by him is something… else, Gintoki thinks. He should write it on the calendar, even though it's difficult to even think he will ever be able to forget this moment. And the fact that The Stranger sounds so sincere is enough to blow him away. His heart is contracting in weird ways and he wonders if hearts can actually perform cartwheels or sports in general because it feels exactly like that is happening inside his chest right now.

"Oh, uh… you're welcome." Gintoki replies with only a little difficulty because he is losing himself in those eyes and in those words and well, just in everything.

Somehow Gintoki feels like he did something good, even if he has no idea why, or how, or who, or what, or- he stops before he starts questioning the meaning of life too. He has time to do that later.

It takes way too little for The Stranger to walk the distance from where Gintoki is to the door and he feels relieved in some kind of weird way, and sad in some kind of other weird way. As soon as he is out of sight, and that means ten feet out of the door- Gintoki knows because he counted- the young baker finally lets himself crumble into the counter in a helpless mess of sugar-coated feelings and honey-tasting thoughts.

His heart is racing as fast as the first time he had tried to bake the perfect pavlovian cake for one of the chefs their professor had invited at the end of their course, and even then he had not been as excited as he was only a few seconds ago!

This encounter has taken him off guard, something that rarely happens in his life if it doesn't involve food.

After an indiscernible amount of time, in which Gintoki pretends he is not drawing shapes on the counter with his fingers and thinking about a potential wedding by a beautiful beach during the sunset, he remembers he is not alone inside the Cafè.

And no, he is not talking about the clients. Those losers could wait all day for all he cares about, his heart has just been taken hostage by…

…Dum dum dum…

Love!

Yes! This is it! This is the emotion that has pierced through him since… five minutes ago!

This feeling…

Ah, first love.

He had thought it was a myth, something the girls in his class talked about to keep themselves occupied until the next drama sparked.

Something Kotaro and Shinsuke only could get to feel, since it was so obvious the two had been in love with each other their whole life, and it had taken Tatsuma and his minions- Kagura and Shinpachi- holding him back from strangling the two stupid pre-teens back then and yell at them just how perfect they are for each other and not to waste any more time lingering around their feelings.

And something out of a perfectly cheesy and comedy movie with a sprinkle of sweet romance Gintoki would deny with every fiber of his being he actually enjoys watching as he keeps pretending to put up an annoyed front every time Tatsuma drags him to the screening of a new rom-com, where his pride- yes, he still has one in fact- loses itself a little more with every beat of his heart that speeds up because of a romantic sentence or a kiss under the rain.

He thought he was immune to the feeling. But no, it has finally happened to him too. And here he thought there would be only one thing in his life he would love.

Sugar.

His first love.

His love at first bite.

Gintoki will never forget its sweetness or the way it makes him get a euphoric rush every single time it comes in contact with his taste buds, or how when everyone around him is whining about their partners and how much effort it is to be with them he is leading a happy life with the delicious sugar. One of the only things in the world he knows will always be there for him with no discussions, no fighting, no yelling, no negative emotions, but only to bring pure, simple happiness that fills his belly and his heart.

However, today things are bound to change. And maybe…maybe now it is time to make room in his heart for something, or rather, someone else.

A human being.

Wow, it sounds scary.

With his soul aching he wonders if he has to file the papers for a divorce since he cannot continue his happy relationship with Sugar anymore.

To reconnect once again with what he was saying before losing himself in his thoughts, as usual, what he is actually talking about is: what do you do as soon as you discover you are capable of having feelings for other human beings?

You gossip with your best friends, of course!

As if on cue the first person that enters his vision is Shinsuke. He thinks that since he has the occasion he will immediately make his newly found feelings be known to one of the ten most important people in his life- well, technically eleven since The Stranger has made his appearance now.

He already feels like he has a possessive sense of attachment towards him that he has only heard in the books Otae likes to read even if he denies enjoying them because they are too 'girly' for his tastes, but that Tatsuma on the other hand lives for. Sometimes, only sometimes, Gintoki wishes he would be so confident as Tatsuma is to say everything on his mind instead of seeing it as a hit to his masculinity. But no matter, right now he has to give Shinsuke the shock of his life.

"Su-gi~ !" Gintoki sings the syllables just to annoy him even more.

"Shut up." Shinsuke's predictable response comes not even a second after.

Gintoki snickers to himself as right now he is practically laying across the counter (thankfully no more clients have come in than the few already sat and minding their own business, but even if they had Gintoki would not care or spare them a glance) and tilts his head towards his best friend.

"I'm in love." He whispers light-heartedly but with a clear finalty in the words.

"Yeah. You say that everytime." Shinsuke mutters as he wipes one of the tables with a little more vigor than a table should be wiped with, probably caused by the irritation of thinking about how does it always manage to get so dirty after he just finishes cleaning it up.

"No, it's not a sweet."

To Shinsuke's defense everytime Gintoki has ever said he was in love in his lifetime he has always referred to sweets and never, ever, ever to a person. Everyone who knows him also knows his love for patisserie exceeds by long any kind of love he might ever have for a person. Or at least, he had been convinced of this before today happened.

"I'm in love…" Gintoki sighs dreamily. "With a human being this time."

Gintoki has done it. He has dropped the bomb. And now what is left to see are the consequences he caused.

For the first three seconds Shinsuke continues his not very soft approach to the still dirty surface. But then, as if his hand is being electrocuted by an invisible force, he drops the cloth in his grasp and with a whirl of his head so sudden Gintoki almost worries for his neck, Shinsuke faces him with an expression so shocked a soap opera where the wife discovers that her husband is not in fact sick but he has been cheating on her with her sister for the whole time would be put to shame.

"…Oh." Is everything Shinsuke is able to come up with in the end.

Gintoki bursts out laughing so hard he falls to the floor.

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"Assemble!"

And now it's time to properly introduce the other two employees that make up Gintoki's circle of best friends.

Kotaro Katsura and Sakamoto Tatsuma.

The four of them met when they had been little and had grown close together through various adventures that frankly had gained an inkling of possible criminal activities throughout the years but that neither of them had really paid mind to. They lived fairly close to one another too and attended the same school growing up, that is until university started and their desires to study for different careers came into play.

And since none of them wanted to be separated, what other decision could have been better than living together in the same apartment complex? Needless to say their neighbours are not exactly thrilled at the prospect.

Gintoki is on the first floor, Tatsuma on the third and Shinsuke and Kotaro live together on the second. It had taken some time to find the place, but Gintoki insisted on it, especially on their balconies being aligned. The other three had not really understood why until one day Gintoki had used a rope to climb over to Tatsuma's balcony all covered in sugar and with two pristine packs of it still intact, and the sirens of the police in the distance. But that is another story altogether.

Now Shinsuke, Kotaro and Tatsuma are sat at one of the tables near the back in the empty Cafè, with Gintoki pacing in front of them and balking orders.

Shinsuke is the first to speak after Gintoki, seemingly over his initial shock, with an eye-roll to accompany him. "What are we, the Avengers?"

"If we were I would like very much to be Vision." Tatsuma chirps in happily. "I have thought about it, a lot, and I think his role would be fitting for me."

Kotaro puts a hand over his shoulder and shakes his head sadly. "I am so sorry Tatsuma, with your brain that is just… not possible."

"Ahah, what's that sad look Zura? It almost feels like you're a doctor delivering bad news to his patient. Are you insulting me? Ahah, is that one of your ways to call me stupid?" Tatsuma questions worriedly even if he keeps on laughing.

"I am so sorry, it could never, ever happen." Kotaro continues with a somber voice.

"Okay, okay. Can we talk about your stupid fantasies later? We have to talk about my amazing ones first." Gintoki interrupts their definitely useless daydreams in comparison to his own. "Today I brought you all here because-"

"You didn't bring us anywhere. We work here. And you said that you couldn't wait telling us your 'life-changing' event until we got home so you decided to close ten minutes earlier and yelled at us to stay put and with our mouths shut." Shinsuke interrupts too, explaining exactly what has happened in the last ten minutes and kind of shattering Gintoki's fantasy of being in an alternate reality where he is the leader and he has to tell his soldiers of a new secret weapon.

"…Yeah, it seems like you can't even do that." He sighs in disappointment.

In all answer Shinsuke crosses his arms and raises a brow at him in a show of carelessness. Gintoki decides to ignore him and go back to his fantasy anyway.

"Fearsome Foursome, we are here reunited today to-"

"Who decided that name?" Shinsuke interrupts, again, this time with an almost disgusted expression at the nickname that Gintoki just uttered.

"I did. It was either this or Hello Kitty's Paladins."

"I chose that one!" Tatsuma waves his hands in the air excitedly, proud of himself for coming up with such an adorable and inspirational name, in his opinion.

"Petition to throw him out of the group." Shinsuke whispers in a way that is both begging and threatening.

Gintoki nods seriously. "I'm already taking it in consideration."

"Ahah guys, you're so funny when you joke!"

A heavy twin sigh escapes the two while Kotaro simply observes the scene, used to it by now since they have to deal with each other everyday.

Getting into character again Gintoki plants his palms firmly on the table in a show of seriousness and narrows his eyes to slits, making him seem more like an old man who has difficulty in reading rather than the fearsome leader he is trying to appear as. "I have news."

The other three exchange a look between themselves, two of them trying to guess what could it possibly be that he is so adamant about letting them know instead of just blurting things out as he does per usual.

"I have some news… that might be terribly shocking for you." Gintoki continues cautiously, as if he is talking to a scared animal or being Kotaro's doctor colleague in delivering the bad news. "That's why I brought hot chocolate for all of you, and for myself, obviously. So stay seated and don't faint because I have no idea how CPR works."

Kotaro raises his hand like he is in school and waiting for his turn to speak. "CPR is not usually performed if someone loses conciousness, except if complications arise and-"

"Yeah, yeah, which proves exactly my point of not really knowing how it works." Gintoki shrugs pointedly.

His best friend shakes his head at him.

"Anyway! Ready, steady…" His voice fades off into a mumble because he thinks it will increase the tension.

Shinsuke and Kotaro blink innocuously, waiting as normally as one could wait.

"Please tell me Kintoki! This tension is driving me crazy!" Tatsuma instead wails and lunges across the table at him from not being able to bear the nerves because of the 'news'.

Between all of them Tatsuma is definitely more prone to experience nerves.

One time in kindergarten they had to make a small project that involved something with painting their favourite animal. Of course not much was expected from a bunch of kids, but Tatsuma had not known that.

So while his little friends were creating all sorts of messy shapes and forms, and Gintoki had to redo his twice because apparently sugar does not belong in the family of reptiles, little Tatsuma was being eaten inside from the nerves since he loved all the animals in the entire world equally and how could he even begin to choose!?

And as he discovered at a fairly early age, nerves pull out strange reactions out of him.

When he asked the teacher permission to skip the first half hour of nap time to finish his painting, little Tastuma had not known that the butterflies in his tummy would have 'helped' him in completing his task.

To spare you of the gruesome details let's just say that when the other kids woke up from their nap they found pieces of the lunch they had had, mixed with other… things, all across Tatsuma's painting and their own. It had been a dark day.

But back to the present Gintoki puts his hands on Tatsuma's shoulders and gets so close any form of personal space is erased since they are pressed nose to nose, 'not like the idiots even know what privacy is in the first place' in Shinsuke's words, and he finally lets out his great, terrible secret in a low and dangerous whisper. That he had only discovered a few hours ago, but it still counts as a secret alright?

"I'm in love…"

Tatsuma and even Kotaro's expressions get crossed with slight confusion because they have been used to hear this countless times already.

"…With a real person."

This time their mouths fall open in shock and even if Shinsuke has heard the news already he cannot help but imitate the two because it still is such an unexpected turn of events.

Tatsuma is the first to break the silence with a sigh of relief. "Oh, oh, so it was this. Ahah, congratulations Kintoki!"

Kotaro instead is still as unmoving as a person pretending to be a statue and crying internally from all the little kids trying to make him lose his balance and fall could be.

A minute passes, that's right, sixty seconds of absolute silence. Broken only by the clock ticking, a dog barking and an infant that starts crying out of the coffee shop.

"Oh." Is what he manages to say in the end.

"Ahah, Zura are you okay? Why aren't you blinking anymore?"

Kotaro ignores Tatsuma and stares at Gintoki with something between stupor and disbelief. In all his years alive never would he have thought that his best friend would declare to have feelings for… another human being. Simply because Gintoki has made sure to remind them every single day of their lives from the second they had met that the only one to own his heart would be sugar until the end of times.

"That is… impressive." Kotaro also adds, because the fact that someone has managed to beat their best friend's first love for sugar is really so.

Gintoki smirks, all proud and self-satisfied. "I know, that's what I told myself. And that's what I also tell myself every time I see my reflection in the mirror."

Only Tatsuma laughs at his joke. He either has to come up with new jokes or new best friends, he will decide along the way. However, right now important matters have to be attended, and that would involve…

"How do you find a stranger's name?" He finally asks the question that has been running through his mind for the last four hours, he counted them.

Another moment of silence passes before Kotaro gets to his feet and slams his hands on the table in a horrified sort of way. "Gintoki…when did you become a stalker?!"

"What?! Wait- I'm not! This is about what I just told you!" Gintoki tries to explain immediately, not wanting to pass for such things. He is a sweet guy in love, not some stupid weirdo. Although one time he has been mistaken for one, in his defense he had not been following the girl but the ice cream she had in her hand.

Shinsuke suddenly leans back in his chair, arms crossed and one leg on top of the other, he nods in that sort of way that when the actors in an action movie do you know some 'business' is about to go down.

Before he even utters the first word Kotaro has already figured out what he wants to say and sighs at his boyfriend's uncommon methods of dealing with… well, almost with everything.

"I have something."

"Shinsuke, no. We won't kill him."

"…Nevermind. I have nothing."

Kotaro sighs again, Tatsuma is laughing and Gintoki is staring at him with a look that could be described as partly horrific partly confused and there is definitely a 0.2% of admiration thrown in the mix there.

"Why would you even think about that?" Gintoki asks with the conflicting 50/50/0.2 look.

"The real question is: why would you not?" Shinsuke asks back convincingly.

Gintoki does honestly not know how to answer that.

So he ignores it.

"What do I do now?" He questions instead because he needs to know just what he should do in this unfamiliar situation. "How-"

"Wait." Katsura is the one to interrupt this time. "How did this even happen?"

Gintoki frowns a little because he does not have the exact answer to that question. How did this happen? It's not so easy to put into words, but what he really is certain of is…

"I don't know. But when I looked at him I just… I felt like my heart would break out of my chest." He murmurs quietly, unconsciously lowering his gaze and fiddling with his fingers. His heart has still not shown any sign of slowing down.

"Awww, so it's a guy!" Tatsuma's loud voice brings him back to the discussion at hand. "And you just fell in love at first sight! Ahah, I can't believe it, I always thought that only happened in movies."

"I don't care if it happens in movies or not, I care that it happened to me!" Gintoki returns back to his usual self and gestures at the three to give him the answers he needs. "Give me the answers I need!"

"Hmmm…. Have you ever seen him around before today?" Tatsuma asks curiously as he sits on his chair again and leans back on two of its feet in a show of contemplation.

"No, today was the first time. Believe me I would remember those eyes." Gintoki mutters the last part to himself, even if the others hear it loud and clear. "Anyway, what do I do now?!"

"I think there is really only one option to follow." Kotaro begins with an air of resolution.

"What is it?" Gintoki asks urgently, wanting to know how to meet the beautiful young man once again.

"Simple." Tatsuma is the one to continue with a grin and his arms crossed behind his head. "You just wait for this guy to return."

Gintoki deflates a little and falls in a chair too. Somehow that doesn't sound as simple as they are making it out to be.

When would that even happen? Tomorrow, after a week- oh no, can he even wait a whole week? Does The Stranger even live around here? Maybe he has just moved? Or maybe he is about to move? Does that mean Gintoki won't see him again?! Or maybe he has lived here all along and just discovered the 'Justaway?' Or maybe he already knew the Cafè has been here all along but never wanted to come in because he finds it disgusting!? Or maybe-

"Gintoki."

He jolts slightly in place and lifts his head when he hears his name from Shinsuke. He finds his best friends' happy faces (minus Shinsuke who looks as indifferent as ever and Kotaro's smile is still a little shocked) and exhales out his worries.

"Relax, you're going to see him again! After all your coffee always leaves an impression on everyone, this guy will be no different." Tatsuma exclaims positive and Kotaro nods in reassurance.

Gintoki shakes his head to get rid of the anxious thoughts. Stressing about things is not his forte, but Tatsuma's, and frankly he doesn't want to see his nerves spilled all over the floor just like him, so for now he guesses he just has to follow the advice and relax instead of thinking about what might happen.

He takes his warm mug in both hands and sips at the heavenly liquid, the chocolate already doing its job in making him feel like a boneless goo made of delicious sugar. The chatter resumes and he takes part in it just like he always does, pushing the thoughts of the most beautiful eyes he has ever seen to the back of his mind.

Even so Gintoki is already anticipating the next time he will get to see The Stranger again.

* * *

**. . .**

**Author's Note:This was actually supposed to be a one-shot, but the story kept getting longer and I absolutely wanted to post it today, so expect a couple of chapters in the next few days.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

The next time he sees The Stranger is after two days, and yes, of course he has been keeping count. Someone who doesn't keep count of how many days pass since they have last seen the one who stole their hearts would be really stupid.

This encounter, unfortunately, is not the kind of eventful Gintoki would have liked for it to be.

But when it happens it's early afternoon, which means Gintoki had to wait two days plus a morning to see him again. So, just like almost any other working day at the Justaway, Gintoki is behind the counter not bright and way too early. And waiting. In the middle of making a cafè au lait he hears the doorbell and whips around, finding one of the people he has been waiting for.

"Otae!"

And this is Otae Shimura, also known as Tae, Big Sis and Gorilla Woman. She has a little brother that makes up one half of Gintoki's minions, but we will talk about that later. The girl works with them at the coffee shop, but only during the weekends, and is also an art major, although her paintings sometime depict… what she describes as 'tough love' but Gintoki only sees as her punching and kicking what looks to be a Gorilla?

Otae and the four of them became good friends even before being colleagues, although the most surprising friendship might have been the one between her and Shinsuke.

Shinsuke sometimes has some… 'business' to take care of that may require… 'alternative methods', in his own words. Somehow Otae ended up in one of Shinsuke's 'affairs' once, to this day the others still don't know how, and she managed to combat against half of Shinsuke's 'clients' all on her own, making the other half run away in fear. And that's how outside of the Fearsome Foursome Otae is one of the closest friends Shinsuke has.

Oh and also because as soon as she discovered he and Kotaro were dating, Otae, together with Tatsuma, started the 'TakaZura' fanclub, which still to this day kind of weirds out Kotaro and pleases Shinsuke to no end. (Probably because the boy wants everyone to know that the two of them are together -*cough* Shinsuke is very jealous of his boyfriend *cough* -and has also littered their apartment with their cute pictures Otae and Tatsuma have snapped).

Somehow she and Tatsuma created their own line of 'TakaZura', selling merch, pictures, t-shirts, an album with all their special moments together and even scented candles with the 'TakaZura aroma'? The most surprising thing is how much money they have actually made out of those.

(Gintoki has secretly stolen- because let's be real here he is not going to pay money for this- a copy of the album with Zura and Suki's sweetest moments together but keeps it hidden because he doesn't want the others to discover he also finds the two cute. His image cannot be ruined because of that.)

And now that you know almost 1/10 of her backstory let's go back to Otae entering the Cafè- Gintoki immediately yells her name and jumps around the counter, not caring about the "Hey! What about my order?!" that the customer complains about. He reaches her in five big steps and puts heavy hands on the girl's shoulders, looking at her with the same intensity he uses when he watches his soufflè slowly rising in the oven. And then he shakes her back and forth!

"I have something to tell you!"

He doesn't give her time to even blink her as he grabs her hand and runs to the kitchen, forgetting the clients because this is so much more important!

"Oh, hey guys-"

"Shut up! We're in the middle of a job here!" Gintoki interrupts Tatsuma, who laughs and waves at Otae, and while she is waving back he slams the door closed and sits her down- not even on the chairs that they keep here but directly on top of the table- and crouches down slightly as he leans in until the tips of their noses are touching, just like he did two days ago with his best friends, to whisper conspiratorially his secret. "Otae, I have to tell you something. Something big, something great, something that will change your outlook on life and everything you thought you knew until this moment and-"

"You fell in love with someone!" Otae cuts him off in barely contained excitement.

"-and it might come as a shock for you but-" Gintoki stops himself as his friend's words repeat inside his head. "-Wait! What!?"

"You fell in love with someone! With a real person! With a boy!" She all but screeches. "Isn't this amazing!"

Gintoki does a double-take. "Who told you that?!"

"Tatsuma." She answers with a sweet smile and big brown eyes blinking innocently at him.

"Grr! Of course he did!" Gintoki does the fantastic imitation of a growl and stands up to face the other curly boy. "Oi, Tatsuma! No strawberry cake for you today!"

"Eeeeeh?! But you said that you would bake one instead of cooking dinner tonight and I could have half of it!" Tatsuma complains with a cute pout. (A/N: Isn't he a cutie?)

"Yes, before you went spilling around my secrets!"

"I wasn't spilling your secrets, we were talking on the phone about launching a new 'TakaZura' perfume on the market… and somehow we ended up talking about your new crush?" Tatsuma shrugs helplessly and looks at Otae for help. "Riiiiight?"

She nods quickly. "Right!"

Gintoki observes her for a moment, contemplates her unruly hair, the slight bags under her eyes, the grin that is not leaving her face and the spark inside her chocolate orbs.

Oh. He comes to the conclusion. Otae's inner fangirl is showing. And Tatsuma's too.

Gintoki crosses his arms and lifts his chin in defiance. "You love this, don't you?"

She copies him. "I have no idea what you are talking about."

Like Gintoki is going to fall for that.

"By the way I stayed up all night and wrote a story about you two!" She adds soon after with a grin that seems to almost spilt her face.

Just like he thought.

"You what?"

"Oh, oh, oh, can I read that! Pleeeeease?" Tatsuma exclaims and asks as excited as she appears to be.

Otae winks and makes finger guns at him. "I already left you a copy in the mail box."

"You're the best!"

She shrugs with not even the slightest modesty. "I know." Then turns razor-sharp eyes back to Gintoki. "The story is about how a notorious chef falls in love with a thief. The particularity is that this thief only steals heart-shaped jewels. But one night, when he enters inside a prestigious restaurant, for the first time in his life he has the urge to steal something else…" She pauses to create suspense. "…The chef's heart!"

Tastuma gasps loudly in surprise and starts clapping his hands immediately at the incredible summary of the story he just heard.

Gintoki's eyebrows scrunch up a little because that was kind of the thinking process he went through when he met The Stranger. Either he is predictable or Great Minds think alike.

"This is so cool!" Otae claps her hands along with Tatsuma, her eyes shining with elation and mischief. "I can't believe you are finally capable of normal human emotions!"

"Hey!"

"He must be so mysterious and charming if he made you fall for him with just one glance!" She suddenly brings a hand to her mouth and gasps. "What if he is the CEO of a big company and he is filthy rich and he fell in love at first sight with you too and in the end he asks you to be his boyfriend and sweeps you off your feet in his white horse that ends up being a luxurious limousine!?" She finishes the rush of words with a heavy exhale. "…I mean, isn't this the recurring theme in all the stories about a coffee shop?"

Gintoki raises a slight impressed and slightly uneasy brow. "Oi, oi, it's my job to get lost in fantasies here, not yours."

She waves a careless hand. "Right, right."

"I can't believe you already knew…" He scoffs and looks away with arms crossed and stomping his foot like a little child. "I wanted to give you the shock of your life."

Otae finally gets up from the table and she is the one to put a hand on his shoulder this time, in an almost sympathetic gesture. "Oh honey, the only shock of my life is, and will continue to be, the day we received our diploma and Shinsuke waited for Kotaro outside of the school with a dozen roses and kissed him so sweetly in front of everyone!…Nothing will ever be able to beat that, nothing."

"Ahah, Suki being capable of love and kindness towards Zura is probably the most shocking thing the world has ever been put through." Tatsuma joins in with a contemplative laugh.

The three of them look up at the ceiling and nod because, yes, seeing Shinsuke being able to express gentle feelings outwardly and towards another human would give the shock of their life to anyone.

"By the way." Gintoki only then notices the lack of their other colleague. "Where's Zura?"

"Oh, he's introducing Elizabeth to people. Again. Ahahah!"

* * *

Kotaro is walking to the nearest bus station with his pet in his arms and introducing him to people. His little 'penguin', and inspiration for numerous and wonderful things in his life, inspiration that had drawn to the toys they are selling at the Cafè now. His amazing Elizabeth.

He stops in the middle of the crowd and clears his throat to have everyone's attention, because how, oh, how could the world go on without knowing about this marvellous creature resting in his arms?

The answer is the world could not go on. But do not worry about that, Kotaro is here to obviously fix things.

Between confused and annoyed glances, that to him appear all as amazed as he feels to be in the grace of such a wondrous being, he announces the divine presence.

"This is Elizabeth!"

The spectators exchange a look between themselves.

"Uh…"

"Isn't he the prettiest penguin you have ever met in your entire existence?"

"Uhh…"

* * *

"It's going to take him a while, isn't it?" Gintoki asks, knowing the answer already.

"…Yeah."

* * *

After telling Tae the news, discovering she already knew, sulking for a little bit (because sulking is fun, especially when the others promise to buy him something sweet to make him smile again), Gintoki is wasting his time sighing, sighing, sighing and stealing a raspberry muffin every now and then. Because even if he isn't the one who made them, it's a new batch Otae and Tatsuma just took out of the oven, he can admit they still taste good- not as good as his, of course, but still good.

Meanwhile he is desperately hoping that the seconds won't turn into minutes, won't turn into hours, and won't turn into days once again before he can see him one more time.

The waiting is driving him mad. If there is one thing he despises in his life, beside bitterness in general, is the wait. He has never been good at it, and he has a story about it too, but that is for another day.

And not to be dramatic, but if he doesn't see The Stranger in the next few minutes he is going to die.

"Not to be dramatic, but if I don't see him in the next few minutes I'm going to die." Gintoki has to, of course, repeat his thoughts out loud and let his best friend, who is working beside him today, know.

"Stop being dramatic." Shinsuke replies absent-mindedly, as if he knew exactly what he would say.

And shatters every hope Gintoki had grown in his heart about not being dramatic until that point.

"I am not being dramatic." He still tries to defend himself.

Shinsuke chuckles and shakes his head amused, and when Gintoki glares at him he stops abruptly. "Oh, I thought you were joking."

Gintoki's eyes narrow into an ever glarer glare at Shinsuke's joke and the other boy smirks satisfied.

"You little-"

A customer interrupts him and Gintoki once again remembers that he is not alone and can't go out in the world right now and ask every single person if they have seen a boy with beautiful blue eyes and a deep, husky voice passing by and charming whoever looks in his direction with his attractiveness…

Ah, if only.

Oh, because guess what else can he do to pass the time until the moment comes when he will get to see The Stranger again?

Work. That's the only thing he can do.

Gintoki sighs internally. And externally too.

It's not like he doesn't like his job, he loves it, but when he has something on his mind he would usually drop anything else and bake his worries away.

The last time he was stressed it had been for an exam in which he had to come up with a recipe. He is lucky that his coping method with stress is 'bake until you break'. Not like he had broken anything. In fact he has not broken a bone from cooking since he was eleven, and that had not been his fault either but Shinsuke's, so he's fine.

Between classes and work he had spent two sleepless nights trying to create the perfect caramel crème brulèe with a twist and luckily for him his professor, and even the clients from the Justaway, had loved it. The only downside was that he overworked himself so much he ended up with a fever.

And if there is one thing Gintoki likes and demands to have, especially when he is not feeling his best, and that is… cuddles. Tatsuma, beside Gintoki, is probably the biggest cuddler out of the group and has no problem giving in, Kotaro doesn't mind either. Shinsuke, on the other end, would rather be hit by a bus and let it drive over his body again and back once more -his words, not Gintoki's- instead of letting such a 'weak' and 'pathetic' thing happen. As if he doesn't cuddle Zura everytime the other boy wants him to, Gintoki sneers in his mind.

But it had taken their dear Kotaro to convince him in the end. Because even if Gintoki has his two wonderful best friends coddling him there is just something about Shinsuke caring, or even pretend to care, that he simply can't do without. It also has probably to do with Gintoki's aspirations of always wanting what is apparently difficult or impossible to have, which may explain some things in his life: like wanting Shinsuke's friendship in the first place, his love for sweets that he unfortunately sometimes has to stop himself from eating before he gets really, really sick- oh, and the latest, wanting to be loved back by a stranger- The Stranger- who right now may very probably ignore his existence.

Anyway, as he was saying, Shinsuke did end up giving him what he wanted in the end because a feverish and cold Gintoki snuggled happily to Shinsuke, who had an arm thrown around him, with Tatsuma plastered on his back because the guy is a literal oven, and Kotaro too, only he was on the other side with Shinsuke because the boy gets kind of (very much) jealous of his boyfriend. Not because it's Gintoki, it literally happens with every person on the planet, Shinsuke sometimes can and sometimes cannot hide how much he would like to keep his boyfriend only to himself and be the only one to hug (cuddle) him. Of course he doesn't say it out loud and has never mentioned it to Kotaro, however it is still pretty obvious because Shinsuke isn't as great of an actor as he would like to think, at least in Gintoki's opinion.

He remembers when we woke up the day after he found Tatsuma and Kotaro taking pictures and whispering something about 'favourite ships' and 'otp' but he had been too tired to listen fully or even care for that matter and had fallen asleep spooning Shinsuke. He had been woken up again by an almost punch, but he guesses that is the price to pay for Shinsuke's affection.

Anyway, that happened then, right now however he doesn't have the comfort of creating delicious messes in the kitchen (or get cuddled) because, let him explain in two simple reasons:

1) Today it's his turn at the register/ making the drinks.

2) He has been appointing himself behind the register/ making the drinks for the past two days since he wants to see The Stranger again. Because if he ends up losing the opportunity to do so simply because he is staying in the kitchen he wouldn't be able to live with himself.

This is why he is trying to go on with the boredom and anxiety conflicting inside of him while Tatsuma is in the kitchen.

Kotaro is supposed to be there to help him because a few months ago they had to evacuate the whole place when the kitchen had caught on fire and they had later discovered the fire happened in the first place because Tatsuma had forgotten some cookies in the oven. Since then they try to not leave the curlier boy on his own too much inside the coffee shop.

Gintoki lets out a deep, deep sigh as he lets his thoughts wander through his brain while Otae and Shinsuke take care of practically everything-

And he is this close to demand cuddles from Shinsuke right now. Especially when the clients are being as annoying as they are unhelpful- just like his latest one. A middle-aged woman dressed in an impeccable suit, probably working as a lawyer, or even as a ceo, her eyes locked on her phone as she types away and distractedly demands her beverage.

"I want a Tai-Chi."

"…Ma'am , it's called Chai Tea."

"Okay." The woman says without looking up from her phone. "I want a Tai-Chi."

Gintoki closes his eyes to prevent rolling them in front of her. Whoever said 'the client is always right' is a big liar and fraud.

He sluggishly gets to making the Chai-Tea that seems to be everyone's favorite drink of getting the wrong name of and when he is finally finished he doesn't even have time to place it on the counter or make a receipt that the woman has already snatched it and is walking away, leaving a few too many bills behind her.

"This is more than-"

But the client is already out the door, and hey, who is Gintoki to say no to more money?

The hours, and lunch, pass and he gets even more bored, and annoyed, and impatient, and in need of affection. And he can't really wait anymore!

"I want cuddles." He mumbles when he is close enough to Shinsuke, of course.

"No."

"Awh c'mon!"

"I don't do 'cuddles'." Shinsuke spits the last word as if it is a personal offence to him. "Go ask someone else."

Gintoki gapes outrageously at him. "You are such a liar! You always cuddle Zura!"

Shinsuke splutters for a split second and a little pink grows on his cheeks, making him look adorable. "That's not true! I only hug him, which is a completely different thing."

Gintoki puts a hand on his best friend's shoulders in a condescending manner. Even if he has no idea what 'condescending' means. Kotaro had explained it to him once but he didn't pay attention. "Keep telling yourself that and you might believe it one day."

Shinsuke bats his hand away. "Shut up."

And thus resumes Gintoki's shift, which he is begrudgingly forced to carry on, but in that moment the chime of the bell rings and he absent-mindedly glances at the door. And freezes.

Oh.

Oh.

Oh!

He is here.

He. is. here!

Sound the alarm!

Fire!

Someone call the police and the firemen!

Red lights and loud beeeeps go off in his head and he is surprised nobody else is thrown into the state of panic he is feeling because life inside the Cafè seems as normal as ever and how does no one even spare a second glance to the God walking through the door?! Gintoki feels honestly offended!

Because The Stranger… he is finally here! (Gintoki likes to end his most of his panicking thoughts with a lot of exclamation marks.)

And it all happens almost in slow motion, as if he is watching the whole thing from a screen, some part of a movie, and after one step and a half The Stranger turns his head, blinks his long eyelashes and their eyes meet.

Blue and red clash and spark and burn, creating a new blooming shade and Gintoki feels this kind of muted electricity in the air taking hold of him and filling his lungs so deeply he can't breathe. He wonders- (kind of hopes) -if it's the same for The Stranger too.

He can't move for the first few seconds, can't do anything except see all the beauty held inside and outside of a person and he asks himself how is it possible for someone to be this way? For someone to just tear at someone else's heartstrings without even trying, without even wanting to. But he doesn't mind because he would rather have his heartstrings torn apart rather than not even knowing what this feels like.

Gintoki doesn't want to do anything else except keep staring at the boy until nothing else but him makes sense. He swears he could draw shapes and forms out of those dark eyelashes batting everytime he closes his eyelids and his heart wants to tumble out of his chest and attach himself to him and confess all his deepest secrets.

His eyes are still on Gintoki, not leaving him, and he feels goosebumps raising along his forearms and his stomach knots itself and it feels as if for a minute he is only existing for no other reason at all than feel. Feel how his body and his mind try to coexist and find a sense as to how someone who can capture a soul and trap it into those irises could exist.

Their gazes break when voices and people decide to make themselves known again.

And Gintoki remembers he is inside the Justaway and he is supposed to be doing his job- not like he wants to in this precise instant- and oh, there is someone else with The Stranger this time.

'…Okay Gintoki, stay cool, calm and collected. Nothing can go wrong if you follow these simple steps.'

He tries to focus, he tries so hard he swears, but there is just something, almost like a magnet, making his eyes shift and search. And when he finds him again his pulse skyrockets, becomes even more uncontrollable than it had already been.

Because he is looking his way once again.

Probably for the first time in his life Gintoki feels strangely exposed. It's an unfamiliar feeling that expands inside of him and settles into his heart.

His attention wavers when he hears Otae's voice

"It's you." She says with probably the most blank and unimpressed face Gintoki has ever seen someone do.

"Aww, what's that face? You look so pretty when you smile!" A customer, no The Stranger's apparent friend, is cooing and grinning at her and- wait, is he trying to flirt with Otae?

"Get lost."

Yep, keyword: trying. Gintoki almost feels bad for the other stranger- this one not in capitals, those are reserved for one person only- because if Otae doesn't like someone she lets them know.

"I just came here to order another delicious coffee from youuu!"

"We don't need your money so throw yourself in a ditch, please."

Gintoki would have found the exchange almost funny had it not been for his mind fixed on only one thing, or rather, one person. But The Stranger's focus is not on him anymore and he feels… what does he feel? Well, he feels something… negative, because he wants his attention on him.

Woah, okay, that sounds needy. But right now- he honestly does not care. He has never been in love with someone before, give him a break. And he feels like he has every right to be needy right now!

Because he just wants to… be looked, he thinks, maybe. To be looked at like a person who likes another person would, like a person who cares about another person would. He just wants to find a small place inside The Stranger's heart to have for himself because it feels like his heart has been already plagiarized by him, he just took it without permission and made it his own already.

With the thoughts running freely in his head he gets distracted. And even if it's not the first time he doesn't pay attention at what he is doing, it's the first time his body doesn't follow automatically without his brain being somehow involved and giving orders while he is moving around.

And surprise, surprise, what does happen when Gintoki is distracted by The Stranger?

He burns himself, this is what happens.

He has to admit it's also kind of a bitter bite to swallow down because he hasn't burnt himself for years, so used to going through the familiar motions.

But only a pair of blue eyes and his life turns upside down.

(Even if those blue eyes are to die for and he wouldn't mind burning himself again if he has that gaze lingering on him. Is that weird?)

It's probably funny how he doesn't even notice immediately, only when a sensation of tingling turns warm, then hot, then boiling, and only then does he notice that he just poured boiling water for another order of tea all over his left hand. Ouch.

Gintoki hisses through his teeth and immediately jerks away, the burning ache spreads all over the back of his hand and for a moment he forgets anything that is not scorching hotness on his skin. But when he remembers who else is here he almost gasps as he twists around to find eyes on him. He doesn't really care or even have the ability to listen to what his friends are saying, he only knows that The Stranger's eyes are on him again, but in a different way than what he has been used to seeing up until now.

While Shinsuke is dragging him away Gintoki chances a look back at him and his expression makes his heart skip three beats, and then four more, because in that moment he almost looks worried.

* * *

As soon as they are back in the kitchen Shinsuke all but forces his hand under the ice water running abundantly from the tap into the sink and Gintoki sighs in relief at the coldness seeping into his skin and bones.

They are alone, Gintoki notices after a few seconds of feeling the burning sensation slowly receding, Tatsuma has either gone to stop Kotaro from getting into trouble (it has already happened before) or he has found trouble himself. Either way Gintoki can't really find it in himself to care, he is going to hear the story from them later anyway.

"What are you doing?!" Shinsuke finally asks annoyed- and a little concerned- and his voice brings him back to the present.

To this present where he just made himself look like an idiot in front of not only the entire coffee shop (he doesn't really care about that) but in front of him (he cares about this, he majorly cares about this!).

"Oh you know, I was just trying to see how hot the water was and decided to pour it over my hand- I got distracted and I was panicking, obviously!" Gintoki begins conversationally and whisper-yells the last part, all previous thoughts of staying cool, calm and collected forgotten.

"Then stop panicking!"

"How?!"

"Just be normal." Shinsuke then thinks better of what he just said. "Not your normal, everyone else's normal."

Gintoki glares at him through the panic still filling his mind faster than the whipping cream filling his mouth when he eats it straight out of the can (which is almost always). "Your normal?"

The other boy shrugs. "Sure.

Gintoki's whole being could only be described as judging in that moment. "I don't know if you remember this, but when Zura told you he loved you for the first time you panicked and answered 'thanks'."

"Shut up."

"Then you threw yourself out of the window."

"…Shut up."

* * *

Flashback of Shinsuke being a loser from Gintoki's point of view

"…I love you!"

From Gintoki's perspective a sixteen year old Kotaro, very freaked out and restless, confesses out of the blue his feelings during their movie night back in his parents' house, where the four of them were huddled in the attic and watching the latest action film on their list. And he almost looks like he is going to throw up his heart from the sheer nerves and effort it takes him to finally say (scream) those three little words that to Gintoki and Tatsuma's knowledge had been bugging him since the first time he had seen the other boy.

Shinsuke, at the receiving end of said three little words, is speechless. He can't believe that his feelings are required. Oh, and he is also majorly panicking, which overrules any other state of mind and body and soul he has just been put through. And what does Shinsuke do when he panics?

"Thanks." He answers.

Kotaro stares, then slowly blinks in surprise, not knowing how to react to that.

However before he can even begin to question it, Shinsuke quickly glances to his side and then he is already making a mad dash out of the open window, rolling into the tiled roof like in a ball that reminds the other three of a mix between a ninja and a potato, falls down, and lands on the bushes. A few seconds later he is sprinting down the street and calling out "I'm fine!" as he runs all the way home.

Gintoki stares at Shinsuke, and so does Tatsuma who seems shocked and also like he can barely hold his laughter in, until he can't see him anymore and then he turns towards Kotaro. "Honestly, that went better than expected. I don't know why but I kinda thought he'd to burst into flames. Or bomb down this place. Maybe both. So I'd say all in all it was pretty successful." He then glances at the popcorn laying still untouched by the television. "So…do you want the rest of the popcorn or…?"

End of Flashback of Shinsuke being a loser from Gintoki's point of view

* * *

"Zura ate all the popcorn." Gintoki complains with a huff, placing a heavy hand on his heart because to this day the thought of the delicious popcorn still weighs heavily on him. "Oh, he also cried for the whole night and we had to calm him down. Man, you're really a loser sometimes."

"Shut up!"

* * *

A few minutes pass in silence between them, the only sound inside the room is the running water and then subsequently an ice pack being squished onto his hand because it still kind of hurts, and then Gintoki decides to tell his best friend the reason of his recent burn.

"…That's him."

Shinsuke has always been quick and it doesn't take him much to put two and two together. "Oh. That explains your clumsiness. Not like you usually aren't, you just took it up a notch."

"Hey! I'm not clumsy!"

Shinsuke crosses his arms in a way that says 'all your arguments are invalid and you know it'. "You are."

"No, I'm not!"

His best friend rolls his eyes. "Whatever, does your hand still hurt?"

Gintoki has to admit he feels a tiny teensy bit touched that Shinsuke, the stoic and indifferent Shinsuke, would even go as far as to worry about his wellbeing-

"'Cause I can't waste time here baby-sitting you when you decide to be a klutz. I have better things to do."

-nevermind.

"Can you, like, show empathy for once?"

"I don't think I am capable of that."

"You know… I don't think it's even a joke in your case."

Shinsuke rolls his eyes again and is already taking the first step towards the main area when Gintoki calls out to him, making him stop.

"Wait."

"What?"

"I…" Gintoki is not familiar with the uncomfortable feeling spreading in his tummy and making him feel like he can't move if he thinks about who is on the other side of that door. "…I don't wanna go out there right now." He confesses quietly and it's kind of difficult putting all the thoughts into words so he hopes his expression is enough to let his best friend know.

Shinsuke unfolds his arms and stares at him in some kind of way Gintoki doesn't really know the name of. "Because of him." He states in a low voice.

He doesn't feel like answering with words and simply nods and looks away, not able to meet his eyes. There is a hole inside of him filling with something, but that something is turning out into a mess and not at all like Gintoki had first expected it would turn into, and it just leaves him dizzy, and confused, because he has not control over it. He has no control over what is happening, and it doesn't really makes sense, but that doesn't stop it from feeling real and tangled and complex.

Gintoki doesn't see it but Shinsuke's expression almost softens. "Gintoki-"

"I'll just stay here. You can go." He blurts quickly, motioning with his other hand towards the door.

Shinsuke looks like he is about to say something. But he stops, maybe thinks better of it, and simply turns around and leaves. When the door clicks shut Gintoki drops his gaze to the floor, leaving the ice on the edge of the sink, and passes his right hand over his face in a tired motion.

This is not how it was supposed to be. He should have done something- something incredible, outstanding, phenomenal! Not burn his hand in front of the first person ever he has feelings towards!

He leans against the sink and exhales a deep and uncomfortable breath that feels stuck inside his lungs, just like today will be stuck in his mind for maybe the rest of forever.

…What a disaster.

He stares at the shadow his feet leave on the floor, uneasiness is spreading in small patches through his body. He bites his lip frustrated, nervous, and lifts his good hand to skim his fingers along his face, feeling just how hot his skin is.

His cheeks are burning in shame.

He doesn't understand, it has happened more times than he can count, he almost makes a gaffe in front of other people regularly. A few years ago for Tatsuma's birthday he had planned on getting out of a giant cake that he had sent himself to his class, and when he did get out the cake exploded on the students and teacher, covering them in cream and frosting while he stayed cake-free with a giant banner above his head that read 'Happy Birthday ¼ of the Fearsome Foursome'. And it had been the wrong class too. When he was sent to the principal's office he had been laughing so hard he almost couldn't walk. Because usually making a fool of himself results in him either laughing it off or forgetting about it.

This time however…

The worst thing is probably that pair of piercing eyes that he can't get out of his mind, or his heart, the swirling blue mixed with surprise and that hint of concern, as if Gintoki getting 'injured' matters. As if he cares.

Gintoki's face burns even more.

* * *

When he is ready- but not really- to come out of the kitchen and into the main area again it's not exactly a surprise that he finds The Stranger and his friend already gone. Gintoki sighs in disappointment, even though he is the one who waited long enough because he did not want to be seen again.

Otae sends him skittish glances, Shinsuke doesn't look his way, and they go on until their colleagues are back after closing hours. Gintoki is about to ask why is there tape all around Kotaro and Elizabeth, and also why Tatsuma's clothes look like they were being bit off, and if Zura had taped himself somewhere again to protest, when they both beat him by asking at the same time what is wrong with his hand.

Gintoki opens his mouth to answer when-

"He panicked in front of his crush and ended up burning himself."

Gintoki's open mouth ready to answer turns into an open mouth gaping at Otae, who is smiling sweetly at him.

"Who told you that?!"

"Shinsuke." She blinks her eyes innocently.

"Hey!"

But Shinsuke simply shrugs.

"Why didn't you tell me before?!" Otae continues more urgently. "He is the best friend of the Gorilla who is always here to waste his time and money!"

Gintoki is about to ask who this Gorilla is, when the dots suddenly connect in his brain of the Gorilla being the one who often gets kicked and choked in Otae's paintings, and also that since he is a regular and 'wastes his time and money' here he must talk, and he must talk to Otae a lot, and-

"Did you get his name from him?!" Gintoki practically screams.

And his heart is spasming and expanding and beating crazily out of his chest as he waits for the moment he will finally get to know The beautiful Stranger's name because after the humiliation today he could at least have a victory and-

"…No, I'm sorry." Otae apologizes with a rueful smile. "I knew he was the Gorilla's friend already, but I had no idea he was the mysterious boy until Shinsuke told me. And the idiot has never mentioned his name in front of me before."

And Gintoki deflates into a thousand small ballons popping up in disappointment.

He still can't associate a name to the gorgeous face.

He falls into the nearest chair and sighs for the… in all honesty he has lost count of the number of sighs he has emitted since the first one today.

"But let's focus on the good news!" Otae's cheerful voice makes him lift his hanging head. "That Gorilla comes here almost always so that means he is going to keep bringing the mysterious boy with him too. And the next time we can get his name!"

Gintoki bites the inside of his cheek and kind of shrugs and kind of smile and kind of feels his heart blowing up again because now he is sure he will get to see him again. And that still does really sound like good news.

He tilts his head away and shrugs once again, trying to pass for the epitome of nonchalance. "…I guess."

Oh, who is he kidding? He can barely contain the giddiness. Even after the… not nice moment… he wants to see him again. And again. And again. And-

"You know." Otae starts with a little glint in her eyes, smile never leaving her face. "Before… he looked worried."

Gintoki faces his colleague so fast he is surprised his neck doesn't crack. "He did!?"

Otae's smile widens and she nods as quickly as Gintoki feels his heart is hammering against his chest. "He did." She confirms with an enthusiastic grin.

He feels little sparks coming to life and bursting inside his stomach in tiny explosions because if another person had seen it then it meant it wasn't all in his head, it meant that… maybe… he might care… just a tiny little bit… about him? Maybemaybemaybemaybe- okay, he has to stop thinking or his heart might burst out next.

All there is left to do is…

…waiting. Again.

By the way, has he perhaps mentioned his absolute need for affection when something goes wrong in his life?

"Shinsuke…" Gintoki's voice comes a little quieter than he intends to and he clears his throat because he doesn't want to sound completely vulnerable after only a 'bad' day, even if this episode is going to get stuck in his mind for the rest of his life, and he still feels his face burning more than his hand, but the others don't need to know this.

He latches his fingers onto Shinsuke's, who is standing close enough for him to do so, pulling on them with a gentle tug until the other boy's attention is on him. And he makes his best puppy eyes that literally work with anyone who has ever seen him. Except for Shinsuke, who seems to have some sort of immunity to it, not even when Gintoki had been a child and at its most powerful level of cuteness had the other boy given in.

"…Cuddles?" He asks in a small- and if he says so himself pretty adorable- voice.

"No." Is Shinsuke's immediate, and predictable, answer.

Gintoki pouts, which heightens even more the image of a puppy that he is going for. Shinsuke does not budge. But fortunately for him the only person in the world who can make Shinsuke change his mind (or force him) is Kotaro. So when he gives him the look 'comfort your best friend in need of immediate affection and show to him and everyone else just how good of a person you are or I will be disappointed' he does give in to Gintoki's whim.

What can Shinsuke say, he is a young and weak man when it comes to his wonderful other half and soul.

"…Fine." He grumbles in the end, repeating to himself that he is putting up with such a 'torture' only to make his Kotaro happy.

Gintoki squeaks and he doesn't even get up, he just pulls Shinsuke in until his face is squished against his waist and his best friend is grouching unhappily. But when Shinsuke looks up, Kotaro is smiling- and that smile, oh, that smile is his end and his beginning- and he even goes as far as to pat Gintoki's curly head, although he doesn't do it as a gesture to show Gintoki comfort, but to make his boyfriend smile more.

What else can he say, he is a good person, but not that good. And he is willing to go far- very far- if it means his Kotaro is going to keep looking at him like that.

And Gintoki is beaming because he thinks Shinsuke has given in and is showing his softer side towards him, and for once he doesn't destroy his fantasies. Not because he cares about Gintoki, but because he doesn't want his best friend to complain about how cold of a person he is- which has already happened when Shinsuke refuses any form of physical contact with him (and Gintoki doesn't care and ends up hugging him anyway) - in front of his boyfriend. He tries to ignore the vice-like grip and how much it will take before his best friend lets him go, hoping is not long because he really wants to take his boyfriend out on a date today, but whatever.

While Gintoki is squeezing Shinsuke so tightly he is probably cutting off his circulation- again, he doesn't care, he is in dire need of affection here so he is definitely allowed to do whatever he wants- and getting hugged by the others too- Shinsuke is only trying to pat his head, somehow, with visible difficulty, but that's okay because he is not very good at expressing his real feelings towards someone who isn't his lovely Zura- he tries his best to hide his disappointment on the missed chance he had today.

He still doesn't even have a name to associate with such a beautiful human being. And that's a problem because when in his fantasy he is giving his big speech on their wedding day he can't call the man of his dreams 'The Stranger.' Oh, and not knowing his name is also a problem out of his fantasies too, of course.

He hides his face on Shinsuke's tummy and ignores the protests and yells about "Oi! I can't breathe, let go already!" in favor of thinking about those blue, warm and delicate eyes and how for a mini-split-second they had appeared to be filled with real _concern_ when he had burnt his hand.

Because if The Stranger had shown worry about him then that must at least mean something, right?

* * *

**. . .**

**A/N: Sorry I would have updated sooner but for the past days I have been binging on Avril Lavigne's new album and trying to achieve the perfect chocolate soufflè. Sorry about Toshi's very small appearance, but don't worry, in the next one he's going to have more screen time and later his POV too!**

**P.S. I love the idea of the Joui Four cuddling and showing affection to each other so kinda expect a tidbit of that in the near future.**


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

"Giiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiin!"

The whirlwind in person, or also known by friends and family as Kagura, storms inside the coffee shop with the same delicacy as an elephant walking in a silent room. This means everyone hears it, and everyone already knows it's her. And by everyone Gintoki means the usual customers hanging around after the rush hours in the morning, no more than a few.

Today is one of those not exactly rare occasions where Gintoki is almost alone because Shinsuke has practically locked himself inside the kitchen doing who knows what and he won't be out until he finishes.

Kotaro is somewhere with Elizabeth, Gintoki did not really bother paying attention when his best friend went off about 'Lizzy this' and 'Lizzy that' and he had zoned out for the full hour- yes, Kotaro will talk about Elizabeth for _hours _if there is no one to stop him.

Otae has disappeared.

And Tatsuma… Gintoki has no idea where Tatsuma is, either.

Sometimes he and Otae disappear together but for some reason today he is convinced that Tatsuma has just gone out in the world to do… Tatsuma-ish things. And that might be a problem for the world. But Gintoki doesn't really care about the world so it doesn't matter to him.

Anyway, the little girl is followed by an exasperated and sighing teen, also known by friends and family as Glasses, or Shinpachi, who has already given up on trying to keep the her quiet.

And now it is time for another introduction, or two other introductions.

Kagura and Shinpachi, also known as the duo, or Gintoki's minions. The three of them form a trio, even though Gintoki also forms another group which as everyone knows is the Fearsome Foursome… it was a little complicated at first with trying to decide the names and nicknames for everyone and everything, but after a while they simply gave up on that and Gintoki has labeled the two teens his minions. Kagura doesn't mind, Shinpachi doesn't like it and Gintoki doesn't care, so he keeps calling them that.

"Hey minions."

"Gin!"

"Please stop calling us that."

Kagura is a middle schooler, she has ginger hair, bright and big blue eyes, all the best qualities that a tomboy should possess, a physical strength that Gintoki still can't decide if she was born with or if she has acquired due to spending too much time with Otae, and an obsession for drinking milkshakes any time of the day.

Shinpachi is a high school student, he is quiet, has glasses that make him seem smart even if he really _is_ smart, is permanently exasperated and Gintoki suspects that might be because the kid is around him way too much, and he also has a dependence to caffeine that he swears is his only savior when he needs to wake up for school or simply wake up and stay up in general.

Gintoki's eye catches the clock on the corner and he thinks it is a bit too early for the two to be here for their lunch break. He draws an only possible conclusion in his mind and stops Kagura with an accusing finger pointed at her.

"Don't tell me you were expelled?"

"No!" She immediately screeches in defence and runs the remaining distance to the counter, almost hopping on. "It's just that today we have our school assembly and you know how much I hate those! And I told you I've never been expelled! Just suspended one time because I put a fake cockroach in my teacher's coffee…. it's not my fault that she's sooooo boring!" She rolls her eyes dramatically and jumps down, laying across the counter now like Gintoki does most of the time.

It could be said that Kagura hates a few (more than a few) aspects about school and somehow Shinpachi, and Gintoki too, end up getting drawn in her 'plans' (accidents) involving her getting sent to the principal for one thing or another. Needless to say Gintoki is proud and Shinpachi wants to be taken off their group.

"Yeah." Gintoki nods with an air of seriousness he should not have in this situation. "I would have done the same. Oh wait, I actually did."

There is a memorable episode of his high school days he will probably never forget, but that is another story and we don't have time for it today.

Shinpachi gives him a _look _at that_. _"Could you at least _pretend_ to be a good example for her?"

"What are you talking about. I am always a good example." Gintoki counters almost offended at such an accusation.

Shinpachi's face is even more unimpressed than before. And seriously that must be a talent because it was already pretty bad since they first walked in.

"Is that supposed to be a joke." The teen doesn't even question it, he simply states.

Gintoki's mouth falls a little open and he closes it with a frown. "When did you become the sarcastic one in the group? You know I'm starting to think you spend too much time with Shinsuke."

Shinpachi lifts his shoulders in a non-committal gesture and glances around himself as he mutters under his breath. "…Still a better example than you."

"Hey! I heard that! And don't sass me, I'm the only one who's allowed to do that!"

"From the way you said that you make it sound like you are the only one who is allowed to sass yourself."

Gintoki thinks about his sentence and his eyebrows join in the middle of his forehead as he thinks some more, then he shrugs because he doesn't find it in himself to care enough. "Whatever."

Shinpachi sighs and Kagura is already eyeing the pastries in display with what could be foam in her mouth.

"Okay, so now I know why she is here, but why are you?" He asks the boy curiously.

"Because Mommy says to never go out alone!" Kagura is the one who answers, although her words are a little muffled from the glass pressed against her face and Gintoki is not going to clean _that_.

"And she also says to never skip school." The boy fixes his glasses and shakes his head at her.

"I'm not! You are!" Kagura manages to point an accusing finger behind her whilst she is trying to bite the glass.

"No, because I have a free period and I told you I wanted to study during these two hours for my upcoming exams. But instead you came barging into my class and demanded to be taken here." The teen stops himself and mulls over it. "Wait… how did they even let you inside my school in the first place?"

"You study too much 'Pachi." Kagura recites the already overused words, not wanting to really give an answer to the question. "You know that a little food break is always a good thing for the mind and the body." She turns to grin at him and she looks like a happy puppy, reminding the two of her giant pet.

"If your food break can even be considered 'little'…" Shinpachi remarks, but smiles a little despite himself because her happy aura is contagious.

Gintoki, getting affected too, also smiles and a feeling of _home_ has already settled into his bones like it does everytime he is around them and the other four.

He is already working on making their favourite drinks, strawberry milkshake with a mountain of whipped cream and a single strawberry on top for Kagura. And a simple Flat White for Shinpachi. Gintoki has tried to convert him into the world of _Heavenly_ _Sugar_ many times, but Shinpachi is the kind of person who appreciates sweetness in very small quantities, and as much as that pains Gintoki, deeply, at least he has Kagura he can share his obsessio- uh, passion of sugar with.

Although Shinpachi is still not as bad as Shinsuke, who won't even eat chocolate when Gintoki tries to feed it to him, but if it's Zura offering it then of course Shinsuke would accept it, the traitor. Anyway. Thank God Shinpachi still likes sugar because Gintoki can only deal with one person rejecting sweets in his life, and his best friend is more than enough for that.

The coffee is almost ready and as he is drowning the milkshake in whipped cream (the glass needs to be filled with 50% milkshake and the other 50% with whipped cream because Kagura likes to mix the two with a spoon and then try to drink that through a straw and of course she makes a mess), there is almost an invisible tremble going on in Gintoki's hand, and his arm, and probably his whole body… because he has to share the news with his minions. News that make him excited but nervous at the same time.

When he finally hands the teens their respective beverages he tries to swallow past the very little lump in his throat and he crosses his arms because he has no idea what to do with his limbs right now. He really is not used to nervousness.

"Hey, so, uh… since you guys are here and everything, we could… talk?"

Shinpachi and Kagura share a _look_ and then their eyes are back on Gintoki, looking as normal as ever, and he doesn't know if he should be even _more_ nervous or not because of that.

"Okay."

"Sure!"

He doesn't bother taking them to a table or sitting them down this time, instead he lets them stay with him behind the counter as Shinpachi leans on it and Kagura leans on the wall, and somehow it is a bit unnerving how easily they cooperate when he doesn't really want them to.

Gintoki eyes what he left beside the coffee maker, a bar of white chocolate, one of milk chocolate, and a dark chocolate one. He likes to break a small piece of each and mix the different tastes in his mouth for no other reason than the delicious taste, but now his stomach feels kind of knotted up and full even if the only thing he had to eat all morning is precisely only a little bit of chocolate.

He thinks about not eating anymore because he's full of nerves and- oh c'mon, who is he kidding? Chocolate _always_ helps, in any situation.

So he takes three squares of the different flavors and munches on them whilst Kagura is spilling out a few drops of her milkshake because she is stirring it too fast, Shinpachi is blowing the steam off of his hot coffee with the drawing of a cute pair of glasses on top Gintoki had quickly sketched, and they're enveloped in this kind of quiet and cozy atmosphere, and he doesn't know if he should try to break it.

As much as he was eager to tell the boys and Tae he is a little less now that it comes to his two minions. He doesn't think there is a particular reason behind it, maybe it's only because he really does want to be a good example for them, as much as he won't admit it, and he considers himself like the big brother/father figure that is now he is about to give them the shock of their lives.

…But wasting time is not going to really benefit anyone, right?

Gintoki breaks a few more pieces of the contrasting flavors and lets the chocolate melt in his mouth, before the sweetness of it disappears he takes a deep breath and says what he has wanted to tell them since he first discovered it.

"Guys, this might be very shocking for you so I need you to keep breathing and try not to faint because, as I already told everyone, I have no idea how CPR works and it would end up with me slapping you, a lot, so… don't try to faint on my watch."

Shinpachi and Kagura don't even bat an eyelid at the words and they keep on watching him and Gintoki keeps on watching them back and when he understands that they won't be talking he decides to continue, because he should just get on with this already, so he pops another square of white chocolate in and through the mouthful he lets out his big secret.

"I'm in love."

There is no real reaction except for Shinpachi blinking and Kagura slurping loudly from her milkshake.

"With a real person this time."

Kagura still slurps loudly from the straw and Shinpachi takes a sip of his drink, silence all around them.

This is not the reaction he expected.

It is much more anticlimactic than all the scenarios he had imagined over the last couple of days, and yes, those involved setting the Justaway to fire once again, and now Gintoki almost feels offended from the lack of drama.

"We already knew." Kagura spills out the truth like she has been spilling her milkshake over the floor.

…Oh.

Gintoki is the one who had not expected that.

A few seconds pass in which they stare at each other unblinking.

And then Gintoki gasps.

"What?!" He exclaims in shocked outrage. "How?!"

"We heard the idiot and Big Sis talk the other day." Kagura continues easily, as if she is talking about the weather, and keeps slurping loudly.

"Tatsuma!" Gintoki shrieks with a betrayed expression.

Since he still has no idea just where in the world the idiot is right now he digs in his pockets for his trusted cellphone and sends a few furious texts to his traitorous best friend.

_How could you betray me like this?! I thought we had something special!_

_I even popped that pimple for you when we were 12 does that mean nothing to you!?_

_Shame on you Tatsuma!_

_SHAME._

_ON._

_YOU._

Once he sends them the reply comes literally three seconds later, almost as if the idiot with sunglasses had been expecting it.

_LOL I'm sorry Kintoki! Like I said I was so excited about you liking a human being that I had to tell it to Tae and the minions heard us!_

Gintoki wants to slam his phone down on the marble, but then he remembers that phones are expensive and crucial to one's life, so he gently sets it over the counter, but he is still furious, of course.

"Ugh! I don't care what he says he's not eating any of my creations anymore! I had prepared all this speech to give you and everything and now you tell me you knew my biggest secret all along?!" Gintoki grips his hair dramatically and paces back and forth, as much as the small space allows between the counter and the wall allows.

"This was your biggest secret?" Shinpachi asks curiously.

Gintoki ponders over it for ten seconds. "Okay, I have other big secrets. But this was the most unexpected one, I guess?"

Shinpachi and Kagura simply nod.

"Wait! Let's do this all over again!" The curly of the group abruptly stops his pacing and almost yells the proposition. "Pretend like you don't know what I'm about to say and act very shocked when I tell you the big news!"

Kagura keeps drinking noisily from her straw and Shinpachi's glasses fall down his nose in replacement of a unimpressed face. "Why?"

"Because I say so! C'mon guys, where are your acting skills?"

Shinpachi would like to say no, but for once Gintoki seems to really take the matter at heart, and it's difficult for the young man to be engrossed in anything but his sweets, so he decides to make a small sacrifice, and for once accepts. Kagura doesn't care and simply goes along with it.

Gintoki pretends to build up his act and the other two stare with varying degrees of blankness as he mutters to himself his part like all actors do before a big role.

When Gintoki is ready he brings a hand to his chest and grips his shirt, squeezing his eyes shut, as if he is part of a dramatic tv show. "I'm in love… with a human being."

Kagura gasps loudly and lets the spoon clatter to the ground when she brings her hands to her mouth as her eyes fill with tears.

Shinpachi just keeps staring.

"Shinpachi!" Gintoki snaps his fingers to give him his 'cue' to act.

"Fine, fine." The boy with glasses mutters to himself and in the flattest voice to have ever been used by a human he 'reacts'. "What? How?…I had no idea. At all."

Gintoki crosses his arms and he nods to himself, finally having somewhat of a reaction he hoped, then he uncrosses his arms and he puts one hand on Kagura's shoulder, the other on Shinpachi's.

"Kagura… one day you will become a famous actress." He says like a proud father.

Kagura's eyes sparkle and she jumps up and down in glee. "Yes!"

"Shinpachi… you will never have a future in the Hollywood business." He says like a disappointed father.

"I don't want one either." Shinpachi simply states.

Gintoki 'tsks' and shakes his head. "You're just saying that because you know you suck."

"No. I can legitimately assure you that I have no interest in wasting my time trying to fit in a world that would never give me the knowledge or satisfaction of doing something worthwhile with my life."

The other two blink thrice at the boy with glasses and then Gintoki scrunches up his eyebrows in apparent confusion. "I lost you at 'please stop calling us that'."

"…I said that ten minutes ago."

"Exactly."

Sometimes Shinpachi feels that he does not even have the strength to roll his eyes at his 'mentor', as Gintoki likes to call himself. He tries to remember Shinsuke's words -his real mentor- when dealing with Gintoki, he takes a deep breath and decides to ignore his brother/father figure for the time being.

"Unkle Funkle!" Kagura tries to get his attention because she has something very important to tell him.

Gintoki closes his eyes and pinches the bridge of his nose. "For the last time… I am not your uncle, stop calling me that."

"How does it feel to be addressed in a way you don't like?" Shinpachi sasses him, again, but Gintoki ignores it.

Kagura almost pouts. "But I consider you an uncle."

"Eh, I'm more of a big brother/father figure to be honest."

"Nuh-uh, you're more like an Unkle Funkle."

"…How do you even come up with something so ridiculous?"

The boy with glasses raises a judging eyebrow. "…You call your group of friends 'the fearsome foursome'… and you're questioning Kagura's nickname for you right now? Seriously?"

"Listen, that was because-" But Gintoki can't finish his very intriguing and amazing story of just _why_ the whole group (minus Shinsuke, of course) decided to go with that name, and true, maybe it was Tatsuma's idea at first, but then something happened, something big and outstanding, and-

-and he doesn't even have the time to finish the thought in his head because the bell rings in his ears when the door opens and black and blue fill his vision- and how can someone look so good day after day after day?! That really must be a _talent_.

Anyway, Gintoki tries to warn his minions about the impending 'peril' that has befallen on them.

What is one supposed to do in this kind of situation?

Hide.

Of course that is just what Gintoki does.

And of course he drags Shinpachi and Kagura into his hiding spot too. Which only consists of crouching down behind the counter before they are seen. In his defence he has not had the time to think of a better hiding spot in the one and a half second it took for him to see 'The Stranger' walk through the door.

"It's him!" Gintoki announces in a whisper-yell at his minions and for once the dramatic flair to his voice is definitely real. "It's him! It's h. i. m. It's-"

"Is it him?" Shinpachi asks rhetorically.

"Yes it is!"

"You don't say." The teenager continues sarcastically.

"No! I've been saying it the whole time!" Gintoki hisses urgently.

"…You really don't get sarcasm, do you?"

Kagura is more keen on being affected by Gintoki's panic rather than talking, so she is slurping her milkshake as loud as humanly possible.

"Shhpppttshtttpffffttt!" Gintoki tries to shush her in a badly performed impression of the normal 'shh' and the pre-teen obviously doesn't understand and keeps trying to drink from the straw as if she is taking the life force out of her sweet drink and Gintoki barely keeps at bay a face palm and the panic as he snatches the plastic cup away from her.

"Shhhpppffffff! We have to stay quiet and calm!" He urges them with wild gestures and a panicked voice that are neither quiet nor calm.

Kagura takes her milkshake back and Shinpachi is looking at him strangely.

"Listen. Stay here. We can pretend we're invisible!" Gintoki tries to reason with them.

"Okay." Kagura nods like she doesn't know what is going on and doesn't care either way.

"…Why?" Shinpachi asks like he doesn't want to be dragged in this.

"Because!" That is all the answer Gintoki can give since his brain has short-circuited already.

"Because?"

"Yeah! Becaus-"

Wait a second… that's right, why is he pretending to be invisible when all he has been wanting to do is seeing the handsome young man for the last twenty-four hours? Admittedly he had daydreamed of their next encounter, and hoped for it too, but did not think it would be this soon since the rather embarrassing moment of him burning his hand in front of the love of his life is still too fresh in the back and in the front of his mind too. But…

He wants to see him.

He wants to see him so badly.

And if he _wants_ to see him then he _should_ see him, right?

So Gintoki does the only thing one could do in this case and pops up from the counter like he is suddenly appearing out of thin air in one of those magic shows, obviously startling the beautiful human, and he almost feels bad but he is trying not to let his heart burst out and also trying not to mess things up even more.

"Hello! How can I help you?" His voice is so loud Gintoki is proud of himself for not scrunching up his face in desperation.

_'Good God what are you doing?! You're already messing this up even more! Stay C.A.L.M.'_

"Oh…" The Stranger blinks more than a few times, taken aback. "I-I didn't see you."

"Uhhh… yeah… I was… I was-uh…." He moves his hand back and forth in very weird motions under the counter, signalling for his minions to give him an idea to get him out of the situation somehow.

Out of the corner of his eye he sees Kagura spilling a few drops of her milkshake on the floor and Shinpachi takes a few tissues, cleans the little puddle before she can start licking it off because Kagura is actually capable of doing that, and discreetly passes them to him, and Gintoki feels a little bit like crying from joy and relief because his minions are so efficient and reliable… sometimes.

"I was cleaning!" He exclaims with the same exuberance of a genie who just got out of a bottle to grant a wish. His thoughts turn kinda weird when he's panicking. "Yeah. Someone tripped and spilled their drink all over, so, I was cleaning ahaahah!" No matter how much he tries to speak normally, his words just come out with far too much enthusiasm and a laugh that he hopes sounds real but he can't help internally cringe at. "Because keeping your space clean is so important!"

Pfff, that's one of the biggest lies he has ever told. Everyone knows that Gintoki _loves_ every part of cooking but _hates_ every part of cleaning. Other people clean after him, like Kotaro. And Tatsuma. Not Shinsuke. Because Shinsuke hates every part of cooking _and_ cleaning equally, and if he is forced to he does the bare minimum at most.

"Oh…. yes, cleaning is important." The Stranger nods with an air of seriousness.

Gintoki almost feels like he is being mocked, but as he searches for any sign of teasing he finds none, the other is being honest. He wonders if The Stranger is one of those people who are obsessed with keeping their workspace clean, a complete contrast to how he himself works… and opposites attract… so…

…so he should stop creating movies in his head because he actually has a job to carry out and that is probably why The Stranger is here in the first place.

After a few seconds The Stranger clears his throat, avoids his gaze and places his order. "I'd like a mocha to go, please."

The way he says the words is quick and to the point, almost as if he has repeated the sentence in his head enough times to end things quickly.

But Gintoki doesn't want to end things quickly.

He wants to put a stop to time and hear his smooth voice hang on to every syllable and slowly form words until they are filling his head. And he wants to see how much his expression can change, if he can even make him _smile. _And he wants to feel overwhelmed by the ocean surrounding his irises.

But maybe Gintoki doesn't have to stop time to achieve that.

He has just opened his mouth and the first word of his answer is coming out when a rush of wind breezes past them.

And then it's loud and smoky.

It's not the kind of smoky and loud that is often seen in action movies, though, the noise lasts for a few seconds and quite a lot of white smoke is filling the place in cloudy spurts, enough to send the few customers into a frenzy and out of the door.

But The Stranger is not moving, which Gintoki finds surprising and relieving at the same time for some reason.

(maybe because he wants him to keep him here for as long as he can)

Without thinking- let's be honest, most of what he does is accomplished without thinking- Gintoki jumps over the counter, in a very athletic and cool way might he add, and grabs The Stranger's arm, bringing both of them down in a squat.

And that proves to be the right choice because two seconds later the kitchen's door comes out of its hinges and slams into the counter, making them both turn to look astonished as it flattens on the marble, hanging parallel above their heads.

Gintoki frowns a little watching that, imagining himself as mashed potato if he had stayed where he was, and oh no no, he doesn't even want to imagine the _beautiful_ Stranger's face if he had been in the door's trajectory.

"What's going on?"

The boy cuts through his thoughts and Gintoki's focus is now 0% on the door and his mashed potato-self and 100% on him.

There is only one possible answer to that question.

Shinsuke.

Shinsuke is going on.

Gintoki wants to roll his eyes and facepalm with a slap to his forehead that is probably going to leave a five finger mark on his skin, and he also wants to tug his hair in frustration thanks to Shinsuke's stupidity and absolutely a_mazing_ ability to ruin _important_ moments in Gintoki's life, another talent his best friend possesses, but he refrains himself from doing any weird facial expression or say strange words since he doesn't want to freak out The Stranger more than he already might be- because what if he never comes back again?!

That is why his answer is in the simple form of a shrug and the three-quarters of a truth. "One of my best friends."

The Stranger stops and stares and blinks and frowns and please somebody stop him because Gintoki wants to touch his face just to feel if his skin is as soft as it looks.

"…What?" The young man asks perplexed now and Gintoki now wants to trace his thumb along the edge of the full and red lips and lift the corners up in a smile and maybe even get close enough to taste-

Okay, no daydreaming right now. Let's get back on track.

"It's kind of weird to explain, but one of my best friend's hobbies is… science?"

More like playing around with chemicals and witness the dangerous effects they cause, but again, Gintoki is trying not to freak him out.

"And he likes to do… experiments."

Yes, and most of the time those experiments involve empty rooms and people locked inside.

Gintoki would know. He had been on the receiving end of one of those when during Shinsuke's fourteenth birthday he had slammed the birthday boy's face in the cake, making everyone laugh. Let's just say Gintoki's laugh, even if the loudest, had not lasted the longest… he tries to keep a shudder at bay…. that was a night he will definitely _never_ forget.

"And he usually does…. _this_-"Whatever this might be right now. "-when he has… _business_ to take care of." He is somehow familiar with Shinsuke's _business_, and it does not end prettily. For whoever is on the other end of the transaction. Especially if another red head is involved.

Anyway, that is the explanation Gintoki gives without giving too much away, hopefully, and The Stranger opens his mouth to probably ask for more details, but he shakes his head quickly, stopping him.

"You shouldn't ask. Believe me, it's better if you don't know." Gintoki advises, and really, it is for the best if he doesn't know.

The Stranger closes his mouth and slightly tilts his head to the side and Gintoki feels a pang in his heart because why… oh why is such a simple gesture so _adorable_?

"I think I get it… one of my friends is like this too." The Stranger finally voices out with a pensive expression, as if in that moment he is thinking of the ways his friend and Gintoki's friend might be similar, and Gintoki should probably feel sorry for him because having to deal with someone like Shinsuke is a feat all on its own, but he can't really focus because in that moment he notices that his hand is still wrapped around The Stranger's arm.

Oh.

He is touching The Stranger.

He is _touching_ the boy he fantasizes about.

He is… _he is touching him!_

Gintoki mentally pats himself on the back because the fact that he has still not freaked out, at least not outwardly, is something worth celebrating over. And not to sound weird but that is definitely muscle mass he feels and he starts wondering if The Stranger goes to the gym or if he is just naturally perfect and he kind of imagines how his bare arms would look like and-

No, no daydreaming! At all! He would definitely start doing or saying things he shouldn't do and say, and he absolutely does not need to ridicule himself in front of The Stranger anymore, so he tries to focus on _other_ things and- oh, have his eyes always been so pretty?

However there is something at the forefront of his mind that is not going away and as much as Gintoki tries to focus on other things he can't help but focus on _this_ thing because…

He is warm.

Well, of course he would be warm, human beings are warm, their body temperature is warm, it shouldn't come off as shocking or surprising in any way, but… but it is. It is shocking in the way that Gintoki had not thought about associating warm and The Stranger together, not this kind of warmth, because warm can be a sensation and it can be a sense and it can be a feeling and Gintoki's feelings are getting a little messed up but a lot _warmer._

Why does the simple contact feel more powerful than whatever Shinsuke just destroyed in the kitchen?

Gintoki tries to _breathe_ normally, he tries to _be_ normal, he tries to _feel_ normal, but there is tingling that feels like a shower of sparks starting from the tips of his fingers, and it runs in his veins, all the way to the arteries in his heart, and Gintoki feels anything but _normal_ and he feels _wonderful_ and he feels _warm._

"Does this… happen often?"

He blinks back to reality, a reality where they are fairly close, almost huddled together, and touching, somehow, someway, and they are talking, and this feels so _normal_ and _wonderful_ and _warm_ too, more than the fantasies he is getting lost in, and it is one of those rare times where reality beats fantasy.

"Mmh, let's see…" Gintoki looks up at the ceiling for a few seconds and pretends to think about it, as normally as he can. "At least once a month."

"Seriously?"

His surprised face is everything in that moment and Gintoki wishes he could take a picture and coo over it for the rest of his lifetime.

"Yep. You should see the shocked faces of his professors. They're kind of scared of him." More than kind of, but just like before Gintoki doesn't need to freak out The Stranger more, however in that moment he is proven wrong.

Because The Stranger laughs. Not a full-blown laugh or a hysterical one, or even a fairly enthusiastic one, it is just the quiet sound of someone who finds something funny. Gintoki wants to laugh too, and he wonders if his would fall under the category of the laugh of someone who just fell in love with someone else.

"I can imagine." There is definitely amusement in the quirk of his brow and the laugh lines beside his mouth and his smile is so contagious that Gintoki ends up being infected, the happy virus spreads through his body and takes over him.

He even forgot he owns a heart inside of his body because the organ is spasming like its trying to win the first place in a race and in this moment he honestly wouldn't mind if it beats out of his chest. He wouldn't mind even Shinsuke doing another one of his experiments. He wouldn't mind the end of the world. He wouldn't mind anything because he has never felt _perfection_ like he is feeling it right now.

Gintoki keeps asking himself how is it possible that all of _this_ feels normal, how are there not fireworks painting the sky and hearts bursting like balloons and stars falling all over them and how is he not feeling like a fish out of water and how is he talking so easily and… why does it feel so _normal,_ this conversation between them, as if they have been friends for years. It's crazy.

Gintoki feels like _normal_ shouldn't feel this shade of _perfect_ but right now it does and there is nothing he can do except try not to get carried away.

But touching someone for so long is not exactly _normal_, right? Especially someone you don't really know, no matter how much you want to, and Gintoki is battling with himself inside because he doesn't want to let go, but he doesn't want The Stranger to be weirded out either and think badly of him, he really could not handle that, so maybe it's better if he puts a bit of distance between them? Right?

Before he answers 'no' to himself inside his own head, Gintoki relents the grip, and he lets go, and his hand falls slowly to the ground, and he wants to bite lip from the heavy disappointment that sits like lead at the bottom of his tummy, but his breath almost hitches in his throat when he lowers his eyes to the ground.

Their hands brush against one another.

The Stranger is not moving, and neither is Gintoki, and their hands are opposite to one another and at the same time they fit like puzzle pieces together.

Warmth is suddenly flushing to every part of Gintoki's skin.

His fingers are almost trembling, he can't help it, they are touching, and happiness is kind of jumping out his pores, it feels like the sparks are sending a jolt of electricity straight through his heart and coming back, the crazy tingling sensation is not leaving and he never wants it to leave.

The Stranger's eyes soften, without warning, Gintoki can see the way his eyebrows slowly draw in and how his expression changes and he simultaneously feels like someone has punched him in the stomach and like he is melting from within.

How can you even hope to look into those eyes without being afraid of falling into them?

You just can't and Gintoki is unable to. He is incapable of anything, it seems, when The Stranger is involved.

"…Is it okay?"

The words are said in a soft kind of way that matches the softness leaking from those eyes directly into Gintoki's soul and he is almost awoken by them. As if for a few nanoseconds he fell into the blue and forgot how to get out of it.

"What?" Gintoki asks too quickly and he quietly clears his throat because his voice feels like it has not been used for weeks even if he was just talking less than a minute ago.

The other looks down, at their hands, and Gintoki is very confused and very nervous because he is creating a million and more possibilities inside his head about what he might be referring to, but they get folded in half when The Stranger elaborates.

"Your hand…" The way the words come out, the way his eyes linger, the way his face is set, Gintoki is reminded of the _concern_ he had thought he saw yesterday and he can now see splashed across his face and there is a distinct pounding in his temples as if his heart decided to go up there, and he feels like his head is light and heavy at the same time, everything feels kind of hot and cold too, and he revels in the contrasts because they feel nice, everything feels _nice_ right now.

He remembers that he also has a mouth and he can use it to say words, and he should probably use it to say words, and he nods and nods and _nods_ again because his thoughts are trying to reach his brain and come out of his lips but it's a little difficult with how breathtaking this guy is.

"Uh… oh- my hand!" He finally gets it. "It's, uh… great!"

The Stranger seems only a little taken off guard by Gintoki's lively tone, again, but Gintoki is having some serious trouble trying to keep his attention on the conversation at hand because The Stranger's eyes _change_, and it feels as if he could look for a little longer Gintoki would maybe find the answer to a few questions that are running through his mind and… how can he even formulate sentences that make sense when it doesn't make sense how he can feel so full and emptied out at the same time because of another human being?

"Great…" He almost mumbles, feeling a little dazed from those dark and full and pretty eyelashes so up close, and the way he is blinking, and the way he is moving his head just a tiny bit to the side, and the way he is raising his eyebrow as if confused and- oh, he got lost again. "I mean! It's better! A lot better than before! Yeah… ahah…" He rubs the back of his neck in a way that might come off as sheepish and for a moment stares out the huge windows of the Justaway and tries to slow down his imagination that is running as wildly as his heart.

Gintoki wants to honestly get swallowed in a black hole and stay there until everyone forgets about his ridiculousness.

His vision gets side-tracked however by their hands once again, his own is still a little tender to the touch, but the redness and slight swelling went away quickly with the ice and an apposite cream, and all there is left is probably the embarrassment and how he will never get near a teapot again without thinking about how much of a fool he was able to make of himself with only a small amount of hot water.

But what burns is not his hand, not anymore, there is a burn, instead, that spreads around inside, little by little, and it won't stop until it has taken a complete hold of him. Gintoki presses his fingers to the cold floor, to avoid biting his lower lip like he sometimes tends to do when he is nervous or thinking too deeply about something.

Because he wonders if The Stranger feels the burning sensation inside his chest as much as he does.

Maybe it's silly, to want for someone he doesn't even know to feel a certain way about him, just because he himself has these feelings, but at the same time his hope won't let him stop wishing for that.

Gintoki's eyes slowly walk up the figure of the boy in front of him, that not for the first time he thinks should be a panting framed in some famous gallery, they trace his fingertips, the little creases the jacket forms along his slightly folded arm, how strong the line of his shoulder seems, the almost tan skin of his neck and the sharpness of his jaw that is adorned by wisps of dark hair, the slight color in his face and his prominent cheekbone, ending up in those symmetrical eyes and that shade of blue that the sky should be jealous of.

Gintoki doesn't want to look away.

He only wants to keep looking at him for as long as he can.

Is that too much to wish for?

It is then that The Stranger's eyes change _again_, the azure melts into a different kind of _softness_ Gintoki has never been used to see anyone wear on their face before, and his heart flounders like it wants to be freed and scream away his _hidden_ emotions.

"That's good." The Stranger speaks softly and his voice still manages to fill Gintoki's head, just like he wanted to.

"Yeah…" He breathes out even if his lungs feel a little bit like they're drowning and he doesn't mind not being able to breathe properly if only he can keep living inside this moment where the world feels muted except for the two of them.

If he has to say just how he feels in this moment he would probably not be able to give an accurate description.

But right now he associates this boy with the smell of croissants and coffee in the morning.

And the way his gaze lingers feels like the first rays of sunlight that wake you up. Not the harsh kind you want to turn yourself away from, but that pleasant kind of sunlight that makes your eyes shine and your face feel warm and you just want to lay back in the comfortable covers and bask in that light.

At least, this is how Gintoki feels like when he is with him.

He likes this feeling.

And he likes being hidden inside the coffee shop with _him._

The butterflies are doing backflips inside his tummy, and he doesn't know if he has ever felt this elated to be in an accident caused by his best friend before.

Maybe Shinsuke did not ruin his important moment after all.

…But customers do.

Their soft moment is disrupted by the harsh bell ringing inside the Cafè and the gasp of an old woman, and the mewl of her cat, and from her perspective it probably looks like the heavy door might be falling on their heads and crush them any moment now.

It is just with the exchange of a look, that Gintoki prides himself on having with The Stranger after only the _third _time he sees him, they share the mutual understanding that they should be getting up, and Gintoki should be doing things involving his job, and The Stranger should be doing things involving his life, so they scramble to their feet and try to brush dust and _situations_ off, and somehow manage to stumble through the explanation of what just _happened_ to the old lady, her cat and other customers that come in.

But not what happened between _them_,that is something that should remain a secret.

At least Gintoki considers their moment to be so.

And then The Stranger decides that is the right moment to leave and when he is less than halfway near the door he twists back a little and his smile is a breath of fresh air, Gintoki could swear he hears birds chirping cheerfully on top of tree branches in the springtime even if they're still in the middle of winter.

"Thanks." He whispers and nods at somewhere behind Gintoki, probably at the door still resting innocently on the counter, and Gintoki tries not to imagine himself as a hero saving the love of his life from an impending threat as he smiles back and feels dizziness and happiness chill him to the core, and the smile has still not left The Stranger's lips even when he is out of the door.

Gintoki lets out a long sigh and he internally rationalizes that yes, Heaven should be exactly like _this_.

"Unkle Funkle!"

Of course it's one of his minions that brings him back from the land of heroes and feelings and blue.

"I told you not to call me that, I'm not your uncle. And what do you want?" Gintoki asks flatly, still not 100% conscious of what is going on.

Kagura finally gets to say the important thing that she had wanted to before. "Remember that time you were on that contest and you won because you ate more cupcakes than everyone else in ten minutes?"

Her question is as innocent as the fallen door taking up space, and she is drinking happily from her milkshake and just now getting out from behind the counter, she had been too busy eating some of the desserts on display to notice anything but her brother/father figure trying to be normal with the guy he has just fallen for, and failing in her opinion. And Shinpachi had been trying to stop her from eating everything in sight and at the same time trying to pretend he didn't feel like the biggest third-wheel of the century.

Gintoki stares outside a little more and a little more longingly, and then he turns back to his minions. "Yeah?" He asks a little confused at Kagura bringing up the sudden topic.

But he smiles to himself, that had been one of the finest moments in his life, if he does say so himself. He had made the other contestants eat his dust as he chugged down one sweet cupcake after the other. He won the first place and a bunch of money he spent on some more cupcakes soon after. He had been one of the few not to throw up, he thinks proudly.

"What if this guy thinks you're a gluttony pig because of that?" Kagura continues unperturbed, shattering all the dreams and aspirations he was able to build over the last few days with only that simple question.

Gintoki stops his train of thoughts and stops in general because the words hit him straight in the stomach where the happy memory of having a full tummy is suddenly replaced by the horror of being rejected for being nothing more than a 'gluttony pig' in the beautiful eyes of the man of his dreams.

He stares into the void and contemplates his life choices. He doesn't even blink, or sigh, or anything. He just… stares.

Then he slowly walks to the counter and puts his elbows on it, near the door still laying there, he drops his head with hopelessness and gives a full-bodied sigh as if he is going through a heavy turmoil. He doubles over the counter in a heap of broken sighs and fantasies because eating as many sweets in a little amount of time is _literally_ his strong point. If his strong point is taken for granted, or even made fun of, then what is left of him?!

"Uh, Kagura… I think you broke him." Shinpachi observes without any real concern behind his statement.

Kagura shrugs, not bothered whatsoever.

"Excuse me? I have to order." A client raises her voice to get his attention.

Gintoki shakes his head, rubbing his face against the smooth marble, sighing for the umpteenth time and shooing everyone away with, once again, weird motions from his hand.

"Not now. I'm rethinking my life choices."

* * *

When Toshiro is exactly halfway between the coffee shop and his campus he suddenly stops in his tracks. Because of course that would be the perfect moment to remember that the coffee he was supposed to get is not in his hand like it should be.

It seems Isao will just have to wait another day for his caffeine refill. And that means…

…that means that he will get to see the barista once again.

His heart _thumps_ faster than that time Sougo had locked him inside the haunted house and he had to find a way out on his own.

But his thoughts are the complete opposite of scary thoughts, they are happy thoughts instead (and nervous, too) because they are filled with a cozy place, the smell of freshly brewed coffee, soft curls, ruby eyes and a smile that appears as sweet as the colorful glazes adorning the pastries he doesn't even know the names of that fill his vision everytime he enters the Justaway.

He tries to hide it but another little smile blooms on his lips.

He walks back to the campus with his thundering heart and the happy thoughts turning happier.

* * *

Some people may not be able to describe the exact moment they fall in love with someone.

But not Shinsuke.

He knows exactly the moment he first fell in love.

At five years old Shinsuke knew he would marry Kotaro.

To be more specific he had known since the second time he had seen him.

Yes, the cliché is always since the _first_ time, but no, Shinsuke is not about that.

The first time he had seen Kotaro was when he had transferred to his class and Shinsuke had been… surprised. To this day he would not be able to say why, there was just something about the other boy who had drawn him in, even if they had been mere children then.

The second time he had seen him had been only a day later, when he was walking by a park near his house, but rain had startled him all of a sudden. He had run, trying to find shelter somewhere near, but stopped in his tracks when he saw someone crouched down over the river. He felt something he could not understand when he saw it was Kotaro and the boy seemed to be in some sort of trouble.

And that something inside had screamed at him to go and help and before he could even think about it his legs were already moving on their own.

Apparently the problem was that a small turtle was on the verge of falling in the water, but it was too far away to reach it, no matter how much the boy was straining his arms and trying not to fall in the water himself to save it. At first Shinsuke had been confused because he thought that turtles _were_ supposed to be in the water, but fiery eyes had taken him by surprise when the boy started explaining in detail what was the difference between turtles and tortoises.

That day Shinsuke got a thorough lesson on biology and he found it just a little strange for a boy of five to be so prepared on the subject, he also learnt that the first animal he has ever saved was not a turtle but a tortoise.

Kotaro seemed so passionate and caring in that moment, as if his heart was aching for that small reptile and something happened inside Shinsuke, something that made him want to erase the worry from those huge eyes that even if he had only seen two times until then he thought should only be happy.

The little boy with huge brown eyes that reminded him of a puppy and chocolate at the same time was asking for help, and how could Shinsuke even say no?

To the little boy's surprise Shinsuke got on his knees on the muddy ground, where the branch the tortoise was barely hanging off was. He crawled over the rough piece of wood with his upper body, and he tried to stretch his little arm as much as he could to reach the tortoise in danger.

When his fingers finally came in contact with the hard and wet shell he heard Kotaro's excited and relieved gasp and something inside himself spurred him on to not give up, so he stretched as much as he could until it hurt and got a secure hold of the tortoise. Kotaro was cheering and Shinsuke was not even aware of the smile on his face.

But that was short-lived when he felt his body lurch down and he heard the 'creak' of the wood starting to break in half.

Shinsuke knew he was about to fall and with his heart in his throat he squeezed his eyes shut and hid the tortoise in his hands, trying to protect it as best as he could because somehow he really wanted to do something good for once, he wanted to save the small animal.

What he had not expected was the sudden weight on his legs, he didn't even have the time to blink when he felt himself get _pulled_ back. Shinsuke also wondered how a boy of five could be so strong.

Kotaro didn't let up until he yanked him back and they both tumbled safely back on the muddy ground.

They stared at each other, for a few seconds a little lost, until Kotaro quickly sat up and worriedly asked about the small tortoise and Shinsuke remembered he almost risked drowning just to save the little animal. With unfamiliar panic he opened his hands, finding the tortoise unharmed.

They fell back with a _huge_ sigh of relief. It was then that Kotaro had smiled at him brightly, as if Shinsuke had suddenly become his savior and he would never forget the heroic gesture. And Shinsuke noticed that the little boy wore his emotions on his sleeve. Not only that, but the happiness on his face was something Shinsuke had never seen before. And that awoke something inside of him.

They both waited until the rain stopped and found a safe place to let the tortoise free and to the two boys the little animal almost appeared happy as it scurried off.

They were soaked to the very bone and somehow they started laughing. That was the first time Shinsuke laughed so much his tummy stated to hurt.

And looking at Kotaro Shinsuke knew that was the first time he felt what love really was.

Maybe he had not understood what it was back then, but he had _felt_ it.

And for a little boy who had never been keen on initiating contact with anyone before… that really said something.

If falling for someone had been a literal _fall_, Shinsuke imagined himself falling from the highest cliff at double the speed of light and then crashing down so hard his body would have turned inside out.

And all it had taken for him to fall had been a tortoise, a river and a smile.

Shinsuke would never admit it to anyone, maybe one day only to Kotaro, but he still felt like that day every time they were together. Only the feeling is stronger and more intense now, the fireworks feel like fire, barely contained inside his ribcage through sheer willpower only, the gentlest flames graze at his insides every single time their gazes meet.

And for the people who say that every day that passes you fall even more in love… Shinsuke has to give it to them, because he feels _that._

Now he is standing in front of the kitchen's door (they fixed it), watching through the ajar space Kotaro working. He has his hair tied loosely and a sprinkle of white that Shinsuke discovers to be flour tinting his fringe, and there is the hint of laughter bubbling inside his throat because he finds the whole picture to be adorably funny.

He had an important exam today, studying business, as he keeps finding out, is not exactly a wise choice for whoever wants to spend every moment with their loved one (not to sound clingy or anything of the sort, Kotaro has confessed him the same and it is quite nice and relieving to know your partner feels exactly the same way even on this aspect).

Kotaro had told him to go home and rest instead of waiting for him at the Cafè like they were used to do when one of them couldn't come to work for some reason. As if Shinsuke would pass up the opportunity to stay with his boyfriend when their time together had been rather short the past few weeks.

He decides to make his presence known after a few minutes of watching _his_ _love_ simply exist in the spacious and messy kitchen, with his fringe over his eyes, his hands moving relentlessly in their work and one of his feet tapping along to the quiet music in the background that he only now notices coming softly from the stereo Tatsuma brought in since the first day they started working here.

"Hi." Shinsuke greets quietly, not fighting off an incoming smile settling snugly on his lips.

Kotaro's head whips towards him and he smiles in that _way_ that still makes Shinsuke feel like the ground is missing from his feet just like when he was five years old.

"Hey." He almost whispers back, voice soft and gentle like the summer breeze and Shinsuke likes to think he uses this kind of voice only with him. "I didn't know you'd be here." He adds with more surprise and happiness coloring his face.

"I was waiting for you." Shinsuke thinks Kotaro's happiness is contagious because it seeps into his voice as well.

Kotaro bites his lower lip and Shinsuke follows the movement with his eyes, wanting to feel that softness pressed to his own lips.

"Thank you." He murmurs slowly, the syllables roll off his mouth with quiet gratefulness, as if waiting for him might somehow be a drag or a waste of time.

Shinsuke feels like sighing out loud because no matter how many times he tells him that he would rather stay up all night just to be with him even if he has one hundred and more tasks to complete the next day because being without him makes him feel empty, Kotaro seems to have some sort of lingering guilt showing in those golden swirls creating patterns inside his eyes. He will never stop thinking that Kotaro is too good for this world.

Instead of telling him 'you don't have to thank me' Shinsuke erases the distance between them in a few, almost hurried steps, and Kotaro drops whatever he is doing and waits for the other boy to get close enough so their breaths can crash against each other in gentle waves, and no matter how much time passes Kotaro still feels that being with Shinsuke is like breaking the surface with a breath of fresh air and warm sunlight drying off the salt water hanging to his skin.

They don't know who moves first but their fingers interlace with each other, and just as Kotaro is about to close his eyes and wait for warm pressure on his mouth, he feels smooth lips graze his cheeks and the unexpected but familiar gesture starts an uncoordinated rhythm in the beats of his heart.

Shinsuke kisses his softsoft_soft_ cheek, getting almost innocently lost in the blissful contact, and their fingers interlock a tad more as Shinsuke thinks that _every_ part of him is soft because Kotaro has always been the epitome of _softness_.

When he leans away, with more difficulty than it should be reasonable for someone to stop kissing someone they loves just to look at their love in the eyes, Shinsuke's mouth curves up at the edges with a sliver of _sharpness_ and an undeniable amount of _softness_ and Kotaro's knees tremble a little and then a little more because he _likes_ the effect Shinsuke's smirk has on him. God, he likeslikes_likes_ it past the limit of how much someone should _like_ someone they love, if there even exists a limit for such a thing.

"You're pretty with flour in your hair." Shinsuke finally tells him the compliment that has been flying around inside his brain since minutes ago, still with that hint of a smirk on his mouth but the utmost sincerity in his voice, because there is no way Kotaro could ever be less than pretty in any situation.

Shinsuke thinks Kotaro possesses the kind of beauty that can not remain hidden.

The boy with long hair rolls his eyes but there is more than a hint of pink on his cheeks and he avoids Shinsuke's gaze because he feels that would be a sure way to let flames swallow up his cheeks.

His voice tingles with chuckles when he finds Shinsuke's eyes for the fragment of a second. "Oh shut up, this is all Gintoki's fault."

After his 'encounter' Gintoki had told them all about 'with the stranger'- and no, Shinsuke and Kotaro don't care about the use of capitals because they are not as obsessed as he is- Gintoki finally gave in to his 'bake until you break' urges, or whatever he calls them, and for the past two days he has poured out all his nervous nerves and happy nerves into baking. And he has made a mess in the kitchen, of course.

And then he decided to move his creativity to his own kitchen, so who is the one left to clean up the mess? Kotaro, of course.

Tatsuma had gone to clean other messes instead, meaning he will probably eat everything Gintoki bakes, and who would be the one to hear the complaints about that later? Always Kotaro, of course.

Shinsuke raises an almost questioning brow at him. "You're saying that as if for some reason I shouldn't believe you. I know for a fact that not even Tatsuma can mess up to this degree."

Kotaro laughs and pats the top of his head to get all the flour out and Shinsuke helps him, combing his fingers through his boyfriend's soft locks he never gets tired of touching, or admiring.

Kotaro lets him and Shinsuke lets him stare and the half smiles they have on their faces make a perfect whole.

"…You're pretty without flour in your hair." Kotaro then whispers back quietly.

His velvety voice feels like harmonies fitting perfectly together in Shinsuke's ears and he smiles some more, the epitome of calm on the outside even though his heart is going _thud thud thud_ somewhere inside his ribcage, because giving compliments is something but _receiving_ compliments is something _else,_ and sometimes Shinsuke wonders if he is the only one able to hear the loud pounding his heartbeats make when Kotaro so much as breathes, or if his feelings are transparent like cascading clear water for Kotaro to be able to see through.

"Since I never have flour in my hair does that mean I'm always pretty?" Shinsuke then asks with a fake air of smugness and Kotaro shakes his head but he smiles in that pretty way only he knows how to, and he nods, and Shinsuke's heartbeats turn to waterfall as he gently pulls his hair back from his milky forehead and leans closer.

Their laced fingers melt away and their breaths melt into each other and Shinsuke has an arm around his waist, Kotaro's automatically wrap around his neck in the too familiar motion and all of a sudden there is hot pressure on their mouths as they finally kiss.

The slide of their lips is soft and slow, a contrasting collision to the hearts playing in and out of rhythm, and in again, and they both think there is no better feeling than basking in your _love's_ presence after almost a whole twelve hours spent apart.

When an undetermined amount of time passes and their mouths reluctantly disconnect Shinsuke is pulling just slightly away and he makes a _face_. "You taste sweet."

Kotaro hears the sound of his own giggles because his boyfriend's nose is scrunching up just the tiniest bit and he is 98.9% sure he has never seen a more adorable sight in his lifetime. "Is that a bad thing?"

Shinsuke shakes his head, Kotaro's eyes are sparkling in this light he notices, and gently bumps their noses together. "I can swear with the utmost sincerity that I would kiss you even if you tasted like feet."

Kotaro is the one to make a face this time. "Gross."

And Shinsuke is the one who laughs and kisses him again, letting the sweetness linger on his lips for a little longer.

Shinsuke does not like sweets, there is just something about the taste that he can't seem to enjoy, and he also does not think of himself as the romantic type. But in his life he has eaten every single sweet Kotaro has offered him. Always.

Even if that meant ending up in the hospital for indigestion after trying his boyfriend's cooking for the first time.

Don't worry, it still had been a _perfect_ first date, they had just moved it to his hospital room. But that is a romantic story for another time, and since we are mentioning romance once again- even if his culinary skills have greatly improved now, Shinsuke wouldn't mind going back and having indigestions caused by Kotaro's cooking for the rest of his life. And if you ask him, that is _pretty_ romantic.

They fall contentedly into each other's warm embrace, it has been a while since they have been able to hug like _this,_ way too long.

Kotaro is looking forward to finally being able to spend more time with his boyfriend, in the back of his mind he is already thinking about the date they planned in a few days from now and he doesn't even remember the last time they were out with no other worry or stress about work, studies or anything else. It will be just the two of them inside a huge movie theatre to see the newest action film that Shinsuke has been almost excitedly telling them all about, and everyone knows Shinsuke gets rarely excited about… about anything really.

But he suddenly gasps when he is reminded of the third party that can surely not miss during their outing.

Kotaro leans a bit away, enough to be able to stare at the beautiful emeralds that are observing him in turn and he melts a little inside their depth.

"Can we take Elizabeth with us?" His eyes are sparkling with elation and barely contained giddiness.

Shinsuke already knows what his boyfriend is referring to and he strokes his back affectionately as that look made of sweet chocolate seems to swallow him in. How can Shinsuke answer in any other way than-

"Of course."

As long as Kotaro is happy Shinsuke doesn't mind bringing Elizabeth to the end of the world and back.

"What if they don't let him in?" Kotaro now gasps in horror because thinking that people might be denied the possibility of meeting Elizabeth is honestly the biggest tragedy in his life and Shinsuke smiles at how adorable he is.

"Don't worry about that." He is quick to reassure his boyfriend. "I'm working on one of my new _projects._ They won't be able to say no to Elizabeth or anyone else when they see it."

Kotaro doesn't give much weight to Shinsuke's words initially, instead he is grateful to have a boyfriend who is so caring, Shinsuke knows how important it is for him to let people know of the wonderful gift that is Elizabeth.

"…You're sweet." Kotaro mumbles as he puts a stray lock behind his ear and shifts his gaze to the floor, his face burns in the nicest way.

"You're sweeter." Shinsuke whispers lowly in his ear.

Kotaro bites the inside of his cheek and elbows him gently to the side because, just like Shinsuke and even more so, as much as he can give compliments he is not able to _receive_ them, especially not from _him_.

Shinsuke watches with a smile as the blush spreads like a stain over his boyfriend's delicate cheeks.

"It's true." He continues in a murmur an inch away from his ear with all the honesty he can possess. Not even all the amount of sugar Gintoki drowns himself in could ever compare to the pure sweetness his boyfriend is made of.

Kotaro wants to retort because he can't see himself with the eyes Shinsuke sees him with, but after the initial butterflies and bees and any other type of insect with wings going round and round inside his stomach he thinks, really _thinks_ about his boyfriend's words, and he has the feeling like a light prickling sensation in the back of his neck that Shinsuke's attempts in letting the world meet Elizabeth might not exactly be _innocent_.

"How do you know your project is going to work?" Kotaro pretends to ask curiously but there is more than a hint of worry in his voice.

Shinsuke puts an arm across his shoulders and brings him closer as he replies casually. "I'm testing it tonight, it's one of my new chemical experiments. I hid it inside a cake and left it in Gintoki's room, so as soon as he walks through the door it will splatter all over his walls and his door will probably break in half. The whole apartment may be damaged." He grins. "I can't wait to see the results."

"Shinsuke no!"

* * *

. . .

**A/N:** **I'm so sorry about this late chapter, I'm sick and I've also been focusing on my other stories, but I really wanted to post this chapter today, and it's a little different I guess because in this one I focused more on fluff and feelings because lately I've been feeling feelings and I needed to write them down somehow.**

**I love writing about Suki and Zura being so completely in love and my favourite thing to write is 'Shinsuke no!' so expect more of that in the future. **

**Finally a little bit of Toshi's pov… even if it was very, very little, but better than nothing I guess?**

**P.S. Writing Kondo's first name is a little weird, but I'll try to write every character with their first name…so.**

**Unrelated update: I was finally able to achieve the perfect soufflè and that was more shocking than Gintoki's reaction once he discovers The Stranger's Name.**


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